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How Indigenous services leaders are teaching youth on reserves to help their communities cope with disasters

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Best CCTV Security Camera in Brampton A group of mentors and mentees stand together at the Preparing Our Home gathering in Osoyoos, B.C., on Oct. 18, 2022. The program approaches emergency preparedness from Indigenous services perspectives, accounting for the unique needs of First Nations communities. (Devin Naveau) Best CCTV Camera in Brampton In the face of Canada’s worst wildfire season on record, a national program that teaches Indigenous youth to become emergency preparedness leaders is more important than ever, say its founders. The Preparing Our Home program aims to improve disaster management on reserve by sharing practices geared towards Indigenous services communities – communities that are increasingly and disproportionately affected by the impacts of climate change. “With Preparing Our Home, there’s been a real awareness and education [about] disasters and evacuations, how to work with your community when those incidents happen,” program co-founder and mentor Darlene Yellow Old Woman-Munro told CBC’s What On Earth. As part of the program, Yellow Old Woman-Munro shares lessons learned during the climate-linked disaster that struck her own nation: the 2013 flood that hit the Siksika Nation and other parts of southern Alberta. In its aftermath, Yellow Old Woman-Munro developed the Dancing Deer Disaster Recovery Centre to support evacuees spread out around the large reserve. Evacuees were usually expected to travel to a central location for support, but Yellow Old Woman-Munro said she knew her community needed a different approach. She put together a team of health-care workers and youth to visit evacuees in the temporary sites where they were living instead. Cheap CCTV Camera in Brampton Yellow Old Woman-Munro, centre, stands with members of the Dancing Deer Disaster Recovery Centre, a team created to assist evacuees from the flood that struck the Siksika Nation in Alberta in 2013. (Dancing Deer Disaster Recovery Centre) Home CCTV Camera in Brampton “For evacuees, to travel was an issue,” Yellow Old Woman-Munro said. “So it was easier for us … to go out and meet with the evacuees, find out what they needed, bring food, bring water, blankets, tents to them.” The Preparing Our Home Program, which has been running for seven years, shares these kinds of community-focused practices with Indigenous youth across Canada. Program co-founder and director Lilia Yumagulova said conventional disaster response is inappropriate for many living on reserve. For example, being taken on a bus and housed in evacuation centres, such as gymnasiums with rows of cots and bright lights, can be a “traumatic triggering event,” for residential school survivors, she said. “There is a lot … that needs to be changed to make it much more culturally safe,” she said. When it comes to emergency preparedness, Yumagulova said, conventional messaging is aimed at middle class, able-bodied people who can afford an emergency preparedness kit and a vehicle. “There is this silent majority that actually falls outside of those spaces and that’s where a lot of preparedness efforts should be directed,” she said. Preparing Our Home holds an annual gathering in Osoyoos, B.C. in the fall, during which youth learn from elders and emergency management professionals. “We really begin with understanding why communities are at such a disproportionate amount of risk,” said Yumagulova. “So you begin with the Indian Act and the forced displacement that many communities went through.” Then, she said, they explore solutions from Indigenous services communities across the country. “The youth say that it’s just amazing to know that you’re not alone facing these issues,” she said. Michelle Vandevord, a Muskoday First Nation firefighter and associate director for Saskatchewan First Nations Emergency Management, is a mentor with the program. She teaches youth about wildfire management and Indigenous-led evacuation practices. Best CCTV Camera in Brampton Michelle Vandevord, a Muskoday First Nation firefighter and associate director for Saskatchewan First Nations Emergency Management, is a mentor with the Preparing Our Home program. (Aboriginal Firefighters Association of Canada) Cheap CCTV Camera in Brampton One example: a cultural camp held in Prince Albert, Sask., in May for evacuees from the fire that threatened the community at Deschambault Lake in the province’s northeast. “When you think about our First Nation people going to hotels and the foods that are being served, it’s not something that people are used to,” Vandevord said. Fast food can have health impacts for people from remote communities, especially diabetics, she added. The cultural camp in Prince Albert, she said, served fish, caribou, and moose, offering evacuees a familiar meal of traditional foods. “[It was] very First Nations-led, solving a problem that we see on the ground,” Vandevord said. Such practices are vital for community wellbeing during disasters, say Preparing Our Home mentors. The goal of the annual gathering is for youth to return to their communities and teach others what they’ve learned about emergency preparedness. The event can also lead to careers in emergency management for some of the young participants. Home CCTV Camera in Brampton Brent Boissoneau, 24, has attended the Preparing Our Home gathering and was hired as the emergency management co-ordinator for his community, Mattagmi First Nation in Ontario, earlier this year. (Preparing Our Home) Best CCTV Camera in Brampton Brent Boissoneau, 24, is one of them. He attended the gathering several years ago and was hired as the emergency management co-ordinator for his community, Mattagami First Nation in Ontario, earlier this year. It’s a federally funded role that many, including Canada’s Auditor General, say is critical for Indigenous services communities during disasters. “You learn so much from other people that are there,” Boissoneau said of the gathering. “And building that relationship to see what [disaster management strategies] can we take from them and what can we give to them as well?” A 2022 Auditor General’s report said the federal government is failing to provide the support First Nations need to manage emergencies. The report says many problems were identified a decade ago, but Indigenous Services Canada has not solved them. Lilia Yumagulova said there has been some progress. “Indigenous peoples within these colonial structures … are making [an] enormous difference in moving these files forward,” she

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“India’s export ban on non-basmati rice triggers panic buying at Sask. grocery stores”

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Best CCTV Security Camera in Brampton Sriram Ramamurthy, Manager of Iqbal Halal Foods in Toronto, says customers have been stockpiling rice after India moved to ban export on non-basmati rice. (Nisha Patel/CBC) Best CCTV Camera in Brampton India’s decision to ban the export of non-basmati rice has led to consumers panic-buying and stockpiling Indian rice around the world, driving up prices in the process. In Canada, the U.S. and abroad, reports of panic-buying are flourishing on social media, with stores that cater to South Asian communities implementing caps on the amount that any customer can buy, and adjusting prices. Sriram Ramamurthy, the manager of Iqbal Halal Foods in Toronto, told CBC News in an interview Monday that he saw an immediate increase in demand for rice once word of the ban spread on Thursday of last week. “They started coming in here and they wanted to buy more and more,” he said. He soon implemented a limit of one bag per customer, but that quickly proved futile as customers would come back with more family members, “each one trying to pick two or three at a time.” Some customers would even approach other customers in line who were not buying rice, trying to get them to purchase it on their behalf, he said. Ramamurthy says he carries more than 40 different brands of rice in his store, mostly from India, but the majority of what he sells is basmati rice, a premium grade of rice that isn’t even included in the export ban. But that hasn’t stopped customers from trying to buy up every grain they can, of basmati and varieties included in the ban, just in case, he said. Siraj Mohammed said he heard about the ban, so decided to come “down to the grocery store expecting that this is not gonna be the case in Canada. But I guess the worst happened,” he said. He prefers one specific type of basmati rice, one that the store doesn’t have any more of right now. “Now I’m not going to be able to get my hands on it, I guess.” Ramamurthy says he hasn’t raised his prices yet, but he’s expecting his suppliers to soon. Stores that cater to the South Asian market elsewhere in Canada are reporting similar scenes, including Savor Supermarket in Saskatoon, where purchases are being limited. Stores in the U.S., Australia and elsewhere are also seeing unprecedented demand, Bloomberg and others reported Tuesday, although CBC News has not been able to independently verify the authenticity of videos showing hoarding and panic buying. India has taken the extraordinary step in order to ensure domestic supply, and bring down prices, which have soared due to excess rains and drought in rice-producing regions. According to government data, the domestic price of non-basmati rice has increased by almost 10 per cent this month. In September of last year, a metric tonne of non-basmati rice in India would cost about $330 US. Today it tops $450, according to pricing in the most-traded Indian rice futures contract. Cheap CCTV Camera in Brampton Stores have started to ration bags of rice after India’s move to ban imports prompted stockpiling. (Nisha Patel/CBC) Sophia Murphy, executive director for the Minneapolis-based Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, says rice is such a staple for India and its 1.2 billion people that the government manages supply closely. Unlike other food commodities, she says the global rice market is very domestically oriented, as less than 10 per cent of all the rice in the world ever crosses a border. Home CCTV Camera in Brampton Best CCTV Camera in Brampton While India is far and away the world’s largest exporter of rice, with more than 40 per cent of international trade in it, their primary concern is maintaining domestic supply, which is why they have had export bans in the past, she says. “If they ban or someway limit the exports, it should keep more production in the country and it should reduce the inflation pressure that is there on food prices,” she said. Canada imported about $650 million worth of rice last year, according to government data. Within that, about $140 million came from India — and only a tiny percentage of that is of the small- and medium-grain varieties of non-basmati rice that the ban applies to. Murphy says while supply of basmati may also be strained, the government did not move to ban exports since it is a more premium product. Local concern is on the other staple varieties, which is why the government used the dramatic step of halting exports. “Bans are easy to explain to the public,” she said, “we’re not selling food abroad, we’re looking after people at home. It’s often a pretty blunt — not necessarily very effective — instrument but it has domestic political capital associated with it.” India’s move to ensure domestic supply is the second major announcement from a major exporter this year, as in May Vietnam announced plans to limit its own exports to four million tonnes a year by 2030. That’s down from more than seven million tonnes a year right now, and it’s aimed at “ensuring domestic food security, protecting the environment and adapting to climate change,” the government said in a release. In recent years, India has emerged as one of the largest exporters of rice, a staple crop that feeds millions around the world. However, a significant shift occurred when the Indian government implemented a sudden ban on rice exports, leaving many nations, including Canada, struggling to cope with the repercussions. This article delves into the reasons behind India’s decision to ban rice exports and explores the far-reaching consequences it has had on the global rice market. From shortages in Canada to stockpiling on a global scale, the implications of this decision have reverberated through economies and food security networks worldwide. India’s agricultural sector plays a pivotal role in its economy, with rice being a crucial crop cultivated across vast regions. Over the years, India’s rice production has increased significantly, making it one of the leading exporters in the world. The country’s abundance

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“Oil CEO says too much government talking, not enough action, putting climate targets in jeopardy”

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Derek Evans, the head of Calgary-based MEG Energy, told CBC Radio’s The House the lack of concrete details on climate policies are interfering with the chronology for decarbonization.  (CBC) An oil company CEO says federal and provincial governments are stuck on “academic discussions” about greenhouse gas emissions targets, putting timelines for their own goals in jeopardy.  Derek Evans, the head of Calgary-based MEG Energy, told CBC Radio’s The House the lack of concrete details on climate policies are interfering with the chronology for decarbonization.  “The whole 2030 timeline, what we said we thought we could do by 2030, that starts to get risked,” he said, adding the dialogue has been productive but lacking action.  Ottawa is crafting policies that would put legislative pressure on the sector to decarbonize more quickly, including an impending emissions cap and killing “inefficient” fossil fuel subsidies. An announcement on the latter is expected next week, but specifics have been scarce for years.  Canada has committed to net-zero by 2050, with an interim goal that would require oil and gas to cut 42 per cent of its greenhouse gas emissions below 2019 levels by 2030.  Canada’s Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault photographed speaking in Vancouver in 2022. Ottawa is crafting policies that would put legislative pressure on the oil and gas sector to decarbonize more quickly.  (REUTERS/Jennifer Gauthier) Both levels of government are feuding over 2030 targets, though they agree on the end date of 2050. Both are providing support to industry in the form of funding and tax credits, but disagree on the methods to reach a carbon-neutral economy.  “We will lose not only the opportunity to decarbonize, we are going to lose the next generation in terms of their belief in are we actually doing what’s right for the environment,” Evans said. His daughter often presses him about his work, he said, and whether oil companies are serious when it comes to climate change. Industry titans, including MEG’s partners in the Pathways Alliance that represents 95 per cent of oilsands production, have told the federal government getting to the 42-per-cent reduction goal is unrealistic by the end of the decade (In fact, they say it would take an extra five years to get there at the current pace). The oilsands produce about 70 million tonnes of emissions annually, according to the Alberta government — about 11 per cent of Canada’s total pollution output. “At some point, if you are serious about decarbonizing the oilsands for a variety of reasons, we need to see some progress towards that,” said Andrew Leach, a professor and energy and environment economist at the University of Alberta.  “But I think also … if the government is not going to recognize, for example, enhanced oil recovery as a means of carbon capture and sequestration, industry needs to know that before they can decide where to put their money.” The federal government has announced billions in clean energy incentives and tax credits for things like carbon capture and storage. That’s what the industry wants clarity on. Alberta has also committed about $2 billion into carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) and approved 25 proposals for carbon storage hubs.  CCUS technology traps and stores pollution from production underground. Despite political and industry buzz, it hasn’t been proven at a massive scale yet and remains relatively expensive.  Canadian oil and gas companies are hoping to lead the world in its development, but that’s becoming a steep task as U.S. measures like the Inflation Reduction Act provide historical investments for green tech.  Canada has been floating decarbonization and carbon capture for 30 years (early mentions appear in a 1994 report on climate to the United Nations). An oilsands plant in Fort McMurray, Alta. The federal government has announced billions in clean energy incentives and tax credits for things like carbon capture and storage. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press) “We are ready to go. We are waiting for the governments to collectively get at the table and join us and push this across the line. In my personal perspective, this is the single biggest imperative that we as people in the oil and gas business and as stewards of the land and the economy for the next generation, we absolutely need to make this happen as quickly as we can,” Evans said. Oil companies are also coming off the most lucrative year they’ve ever seen. At a time when there’s money available, companies have been criticized for not investing more of their record profits into clean technology development or accelerating their commitments to existing options.  Advancing without government direction and support — and out of step with other countries like Norway — would kill the competitiveness of Canadian oil, Evans said.  “I think we would just ultimately say it’s probably cheaper for us to pay the carbon tax and not abate the carbon. And then we have lost on two fronts: We have lost a global leadership opportunity … and we have not abated an iota of CO2.”  A recent report commissioned by an environmental group concluded it would be significantly cheaper to meet reduction targets for greenhouse gases than it would be to pay carbon taxes on it. Leach said the path forward depends on whether decisions are influenced more by politics or by global market and environmental factors.  That question rests largely with the industry. “Is decarbonizing the oilsands something that has to happen for the future of the industry or is it something that has to happen so long as the current Liberal government makes it a priority,” he said. Evans remains optimistic the governments and companies can find a path forward.  “I have never heard a federal official tell me that they want to see production shut in and clearly the premier doesn’t either. So with those basics, I feel we’re going to be able to thread the needle here.”  Alberta’s Smith decries ‘federal interference’ ahead of premiers’ meeting Alberta Premier Danielle Smith believes she’ll have allies in her battle against what she sees as federal interference when she attends this week’s meeting of

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“NATO’s latest moves could bottle up much of Russia’s naval power”

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A Russian nuclear submarine sails off to take part in Pacific Fleet drills near Vladivostok, Russia on April 14, 2023. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP) Since midnight Wednesday, Moscow time, Russia has been warning the world that any ship approaching a Ukrainian port “will be regarded as potential carriers of military cargo.” This obvious threat to sink commercial shipping appears to be an attempt to prevent ships from taking on Ukrainian grain. This week, Russia unilaterally ended talks on renewing the Black Sea Grain Initiative that has allowed food to flow to other countries from Ukraine, despite the war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked Turkey to join him in a new arrangement to protect grain ships without Russia’s involvement. Turkey has yet to respond. The threat to sink commercial shipping marks an escalation that can only be carried out under a state of declared war, said Tanya Grodzinski, a naval historian at the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ont. That’s something Russian President Vladimir Putin has been anxious to avoid, opting instead to present his war on Ukraine as a “special military operation.” The new threat may say more about Russia’s weakness than its strength, as the strategic balance in the waters around European Russia shifts against it. The day the NATO summit in Vilnius opened — July 11 — was marked in Cuba by the arrival of the Russian Navy warship Perekop of the Baltic Fleet. The Cuban government welcomed the Perekop — the biggest Russian warship to visit Cuba in many years — with a cannon salute from Havana’s old fort. For Moscow, the visit allowed Russia to project its military power into the Americas and show support for the Cuban Communist Party, a close ally, on the second anniversary of a popular revolt against its rule. But as the fanfare unfolded in Havana, events in Vilnius that morning and the night before were building a new fence around the Perekop’s home ports of St Petersburg and Kaliningrad. Russia’s Baltic fleet will still be able to sail in peacetime but it’s being strategically bottled up as its home sea becomes a NATO lake. And to the south, Russia’s storied Black Sea fleet, already hurt by the humiliating loss of its flagship Moskva, faces an uncertain future and the possible loss of both its bases and its naval supremacy. One way in, one way out The Baltic and the Black Sea share a geographical feature: they both have only one slender opening into the world’s oceans. In the Baltic, three narrow straits separate Denmark from Sweden; the widest, between two Danish islands, is a mere 16 kilometres across. Ships seeking to exit the Black Sea to enter the Mediterranean must sail the Bosphorus River and the Dardanelles Strait — both of which are entirely within the territorial waters of NATO member Turkey. Four days after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Turkey closed the straits to all warships, a move that principally affects Russia. A Russian navy vessel launches an anti-ship missile test in the Peter The Great Gulf in the Sea of Japan on March 28, 2023. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP) For those reasons, Russia has long preferred to station the main part of its blue water navy and its nuclear submarines at its Arctic and Pacific ports. Grodzinski said the Baltic and Black Sea fleets were central to Russia’s emergence as a great power after the 1790s. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and NATO’s response to it, threatens that standing, she added. “If this was viewed as a gamble on the part of Mr. Putin to recreate this image he has of Russia, this historic image of Russian being a great power, it’s being thwarted diplomatically in the Baltic and militarily in Ukraine and the Black Sea,” she told CBC News. “The implications for his leadership and position could be quite significant.” Putin and his defenders have claimed he launched his war to keep NATO away from Russia’s borders. Instead, the conflict triggered a new round of NATO expansion that this year caused Russia’s border with the alliance to more than double in length. The accession of Finland in April added more than 1,300 kilometres of NATO-Russia border.  The green light for Sweden to join the alliance, which came on the eve of the Vilnius summit, turns the Baltic Sea into NATO’s backyard. At the start of the year, the northern shores of the Baltic, including both sides of the Gulf of Bothnia, were neutral territory. Sweden and Finland, two countries that maintain highly professional navies and air forces, had for decades remained outside of the European alliance. Now, every inch of Baltic shoreline outside of Russian waters is controlled by NATO allies — allies that are increasingly well-armed. “You’re seeing this rejuvenation of naval forces all across Europe,” said Grodzinski. “Sweden, Norway, Finland and so forth are expanding their navies. There is a greater NATO presence in in the Baltic Sea, which never really occurred before. So there’s a completely different dynamic.” Swedish Black Hawk helicopters fly past the Navy ship that U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin travels on during a military demonstration through the islands in the southern Stockholm archipelago on Wednesday, April 19, 2023. (Lolita Baldor/Associated Press) The Swedes, said retired Canadian admiral Mark Norman, “have an incredibly capable military with some very advanced technologies, many of which are homegrown or organic capabilities. They are experts in what I would call sea control in relatively shallow waters. “They’re experts in mining, counter-mining. They are experts in submarining and in anti-submarining. These are vital capabilities.” A Russian ship leaving Saint Petersburg must first sail through the Gulf of Finland, where only about 80 kilometres of open water separate Helsinki from the Estonian capital Tallinn. NATO is now on both sides of that narrow strait. The even narrower corridor of international waters in the middle is within easy range of NATO’s sea-skimming missiles from either shore. The new political geography of the region means “in effect, in any form of conflict, the Baltic gets cut off,” said maritime and arctic security expert Rob Huebert of the University of Calgary. “We’re not going to be able to see any

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“Breaking Point: The Alarming Crisis in Alberta’s Drought-Ridden Fields and Its Impact on the Future of Agriculture”

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Cattle graze at sunset near Cochrane, Alta., on June 8. The chair of the Alberta Beef Producers says where drought conditions are affecting producers, the situation has grown severe. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press) The president of the Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) says a dire situation has emerged for various municipalities, especially in the southern and eastern parts of the province. “There’s just not enough time, if we did have the moisture required, and just too late germination. So it’s a pretty scary situation,” Paul McLauchlin said. Such conditions are likely to spark some bigger conversations about the future of food security in the province, McLauchlin said, especially when it comes to agricultural disasters. This year, multiple municipalities have declared agricultural disasters, including:  County of Stettler (June 14). County of Paintearth (June 20). Vulcan County (June 21). Foothills County (June 28). Cypress County (July 5). Wheatland County (July 5). The latest moves follow devastating drought conditions two years ago when multiple provincial municipalities declared agricultural disasters.   RMA president Paul McLauchlin says he expects a doubling of the number of agricultural disasters declared in the province so far this year. (Trevor Wilson/CBC) “We’re definitely into a trend,” McLauchlin said. “I think that we need to start looking for conversations around efficiency in our use of agricultural disasters, what type of mitigation we can have.  “Coming into a hotter and drier future, we’ve got to start having bigger discussions on how we can mitigate this for the long run.” In declaring the disaster in Wheatland County, located east of Calgary, officials said the problem is “urgent,” stating that the drought means there’s very little water for crops. For some producers, any precipitation may be too late. The Special Areas Board, which covers more than five million acres in east-central Alberta, also declared an agricultural disaster, for Special Area No. 2, 3, and 4 on July 12, the second time it had done so in more than 20 years. “Dry conditions are not new to the Special Areas, but ongoing moisture deficiencies and hot temperatures have devastated crops and pasture throughout the region,” wrote Jordon Christianson, chair of the board, in a statement.  “Producers are struggling to find enough grass, water and feed for their cattle. Farmers are facing widespread crop failures. Significant grasshopper infestations are making a very difficult situation worse in many parts of the Special Areas.” Ed Vandenberg, who farms potatoes, dry beans and corn near Enchant, Alta., says he’s fortunate to have irrigation, because without it, he wouldn’t have a crop this year — but it has led to challenges for his neighbours. “It just puts a bit of a negative gloom over the area, when neighbours get together and they’re talking about the crops and the state of the crops,” Vandenberg said. “It’s discouraging when you have good crops, and the potential and the promise of a good harvest, that brings a smile to farmers’ faces. But they’re far and few between right now.”  Agriculture is a key part of Alberta’s economy, contributing $8.1 billion in GDP in 2021 and employing more than 58,300 Albertans, according to Invest Alberta.  Brodie Haugan, chair of Alberta Beef Producers, said though the drought areas may be getting smaller, where it is affecting producers it is severe.  Extreme drought and weather in the past has led beef producers in Canada and in the United States to thin herds in near-record numbers. That’s taking place again this year, Haugan said. “A lot of operations that were forced to take measures in past years haven’t been able to build their numbers back this year,” Haugan said.  Municipal agricultural disasters don’t automatically trigger funding or program responses. They are used to signal that the conditions that farmers are facing are growing dire to provincial and federal governments. But McLauchlin, the RMA president, said they are an important exercise, and aren’t taken lightly. Conditions in the Special Areas, which cover more than five million acres in east-central Alberta, are shown in these two photos. The Special Areas Board says ongoing moisture deficiencies and hot temperatures have devastated crops and pasture throughout the region. (Submitted by Special Areas Board) Moving forward, he said conversations were starting to take shape around what the future of agriculture in the province might look like. “South Africa had a [dire] drought. And they responded to it by actually using the landscape to mitigate and create a more certain future, whether it was a better use of water, water recycling, check dams and a lot of other conversations — even around crop choices,” he said. “So I think those discussions have happened lately. But I think that … at the end of this year, we need to start having those bigger conversations with multiple folks at the table, and decide how we’re going to take this on in the future.” In a statement, a spokesperson for Alberta Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation RJ Sigurdson said it was working with the Agriculture Financial Services Corporation to support producers who are considering putting their crops to alternate uses, rather than waiting until maturity to harvest. “We have heard the concerns of crop and livestock producers, and continue to closely monitor the situation and explore possible support options,” spokesperson Callum Reid wrote in a statement. Alberta, known for its vast agricultural lands, is currently facing a grave challenge: a severe drought that has taken a toll on its fields and raised concerns about the future of farming in the region. The province’s farmers, who rely on water availability for successful crop production and livestock maintenance, are grappling with the devastating consequences of the ongoing water shortage. This article delves into the alarming situation, its causes, and the potential implications for Alberta’s agricultural sector. Drought is a prolonged period of abnormally low rainfall that leads to water scarcity and adverse impacts on various sectors, including agriculture. In recent years, climate change has intensified the frequency and severity of droughts worldwide. Alberta’s current drought scenario is a direct result of declining precipitation patterns and changing weather patterns influenced by climate change. As a result, the province is experiencing reduced water availability, affecting both crop production and livestock management.

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“The Shocking Revelation: Trump Informed of Being the Prime Target in U.S. Probe on Election Meddling”

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Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event, Saturday, July 8, 2023, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher, File) WASHINGTON – Former U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he has received a letter informing him that he is a target of the Justice Department’s investigation into efforts to undo the results of the 2020 presidential election, an indication that he could soon be indicted by federal prosecutors. Trump made the claim in a post on his Truth Social platform, saying he received the target letter while with his family on Sunday night. Such a letter can precede an indictment and is used to advise individuals that prosecutors have evidence linking them to a crime; Trump received one ahead of being charged last month in a separate investigation into the mishandling of classified documents. A spokesman for special counsel Jack Smith, whose office is leading the investigation, declined to comment. Smith’s team has cast a broad net in its investigation into attempts by Trump and his allies to block the legitimate transfer of power to Democrat Joe Biden in the days leading up to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, when Trump loyalists stormed the building in a bid to disrupt the certification of electoral votes in Congress. More than 1,000 people accused of participating in the riot have been charged. Smith’s probe has centered on a broad range of schemes from Trump and allies to keep him in power, including the use of slates of so-called fake electors in battleground states won by Biden and disputed by Trump. Trump, who is currently the dominant early frontrunner for the Republican nomination, is scheduled to travel to Iowa Tuesday, where he is taping a town hall with Fox News host Sean Hannity. One purpose of the target letter is to advise a potential defendant that he or she has a right to appear before the grand jury. Trump said in his post that he has been given “a very short 4 days to report to the Grand Jury, which almost always means an Arrest and indictment,” but aides did not immediately respond to questions seeking clarity. Prosecutors in Georgia are conducting a separate investigation into efforts by Trump to reverse his election loss in that state, with the top prosecutor in Fulton County signaling that she expects to announce charging decisions next month. In his post, Trump wrote that “they have now effectively indicted me three times…. with a probably fourth coming from Atlanta” and added in capital letters, “This witch hunt is all about election interference and a complete and total (political) weaponization of law enforcement!” Trump was indicted last month on 37 felony counts accusing him of illegally retaining hundreds of classified documents at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago. He has pleaded not guilty. A pretrial conference in that case was set for Tuesday in Fort Pierce, Fla. Efforts to deceive the public about voting and elections remain a top concern for state election officials as they dig into preparations for the 2024 election. Misinformation and the emergence of generative artificial intelligence tools to create false and misleading content were cited in interviews with several secretaries of state gathered recently for their national conference. Other top concerns were staffing and the loss of experienced leaders overseeing elections at the local level. The officials were gathered in Washington for the annual summer conference of the National Association of Secretaries of State. “The cliche here is true,” said Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, a Democrat. “You hope for the best, but plan for the worst. So, we’re planning for the worst, which is that multiple communications channels will be filled with false and misleading information.” State election officials in Michigan and Colorado said they were particularly concerned about the rise of AI and the implications of it being misused by foreign adversaries seeking to meddle in U.S. elections. They pointed to altered videos, known as deepfakes, that rely on facial mapping and AI to make it appear that real people are saying things they never said. Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said she convened a working group in her office to game out potential risks, after a 2020 presidential election that was marred by false claims and attacks on voting. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said state and federal regulations requiring disclosures of AI-generated content are needed along with boosting public awareness. State election officials in Michigan and Colorado said they were particularly concerned about the rise of AI and the implications of it being misused by foreign adversaries seeking to meddle in U.S. elections. They pointed to altered videos, known as deepfakes, that rely on facial mapping and AI to make it appear that real people are saying things they never said. Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said she convened a working group in her office to game out potential risks, after a 2020 presidential election that was marred by false claims and attacks on voting. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said state and federal regulations requiring disclosures of AI-generated content are needed along with boosting public awareness. “We can’t necessarily put the genie back in the bottle, but we can educate citizens about how to receive that information,” said Benson, a Democrat. “And it becomes much easier if there are disclaimers alongside it that says, hey, this is fake.” Some state election officials said they would not be deterred by a recent court order by a federal judge in Louisiana that limited federal agencies when it comes to contacting social media companies about content deemed false or deceptive with a few exceptions. On Friday, an appeals court temporarily paused the order. “The injunction doesn’t apply to state officials, so I’m going to keep talking to whoever the hell I want to talk to,” said Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat. “If you know somebody is out there lying and it hurts voters, they’re literally telling voters the wrong day

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