nationalobserver--2020-12-21--Boaters defying whale protections slapped with warnings, not fines

Transport Canada handed out hundreds of warnings but no fines to boaters in British Columbia waters who violated a federal interim order protecting endangered orcas this year .
The department confirmed it had issued 159 written warnings and logged 51 verbal warnings as of this month , and that those represented the entirety of the enforcement actions it took so far this year , pending some cases still “ under review.
” The Canada Shipping Act allows for financial penalties or even imprisonment for violations of the federal order , and some local residents want department officials to make an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of deterrence .
The government said this year ’ s effort was a success , pointing to a “ limited number of repeat violations , ” which it attributed to a “ successful educational campaign for boaters.
” It also said the sanctuaries kept three pregnant females safe from humans .
Two whale calves were born in September .
“ In addition to on-the-water efforts by enforcement officers , virtual outreach and education took place through webinars , online events and social media , ” reads a Dec. 10 statement from the department @ @ @ @ @ @ @ team also reached over 4,800 people through online interpretive programs about southern resident killer whales.
” Garneau announced that the ban on approaching killer whales within 400 metres would be extended until May 31 , 2021 .
Canada also has a separate set of marine mammal regulations under the Fisheries Act , which requires a 200-metre distance from killer whales off B.C.
’ s coast that applies year-round .
Transport Canada handed out hundreds of warnings this year but no fines to boaters in British Columbia waters who violated a federal interim order @ @ @ @ @ @

Transport Canada handed out hundreds of warnings but no fines to boaters in British Columbia waters who violated a federal interim order protecting endangered orcas this year.
The department confirmed it had issued 159 written warnings and logged 51 verbal warnings as of this month, and that those represented the entirety of the enforcement actions it took so far this year, pending some cases still “under review.”
The Canada Shipping Act allows for financial penalties or even imprisonment for violations of the federal order, and some local residents want department officials to make an example of some boaters as a means of deterrence.
Ships can be deadly to the southern resident killer whales, 74 of which are in existence, living off the coasts of B.C., Washington state and Oregon. Ship strikes are a main reason for deaths in recent years, according to recently published research reported by CBC News.
Transport Minister Marc Garneau gave the interim order this year banning most vessels from approaching within 400 metres of a killer whale in southern B.C. coastal waters. The order also banned most vessels from entering three designated whale sanctuaries in the Gulf Islands and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.


nationalobserver--2020-12-21--Uncovered tracks: The bloody legacy of Canada’s railways

Thousands of tourists flock to Craigellachie ’ s Last Spike Gift Shoppe each year .
They pose for photos by the tracks and take turns re-enacting the 1885 photograph of Donald Smith driving in the last spike .
But 100 kilometres north , the Coastal GasLink pipeline is charging through the Wet ’ suwet ’ en territories that brought Canadian railways to a grinding halt .
Nov. 7 marked the 135th anniversary of the Canadian Pacific Railway ’ s completion .
Although the railway has always been a private corporation , it was — and remains — a wrought iron @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nations peoples , Canada ’ s railways are vehicles for expropriation .
“ Hot metal screaming through the valleys , echoing loud enough to wake the mountains , ” the voice of Wet ’ suwet ’ en poet Jennifer Wickham shakes as she recites a poem from her collection , I ’ m a Real Skin .
“ A procession of metal caskets carrying stolen goods : clickety clack clickety clack , cha-ching.
” She wrote the poem when she lived in Burns Lake .
There , the trains would echo across the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a night .
“ I hate the trains , ” she says .
“ Like , a lot.
” • How one young scientist is protecting fragile ecosystems in Canada 's North • Why Canada needs to shift the power base to urban voters But in 2018 , her community stood off with a different piece of Crown-backed , privately owned corporate infrastructure .
Coastal GasLink had received approval from the Wet ’ suwet ’ en band council to build a pipeline on their territory , but not from the hereditary chiefs who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ water “ protectors ” created blockades on the construction site to prevent the project from going forward , and this continued through 2019 .
“ Stand up and fight back , ” Molly Wickham , spokesperson for the Gidimt ’ en camp and Jennifer ’ s sister , urged in a YouTube video , “ Shut down Canada.
” From January 2020 until COVID-19 struck , protesters from coast to coast answered the call by blocking the country ’ s rails .
On the other side of the country in Kahnawake , Que.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to block the rails when she saw Wet ’ suwet ’ en people being forcibly removed from their territory .
“ Canada always projects itself as being the most peaceful country in the world , but that ’ s not the case for Indigenous Peoples , ” said Whitebean .
“ That ’ s not our reality.
” But why target the railways ?
`` Nov. 7 marked the 135th anniversary of the Canadian Pacific Railway ’ s completion .. for First Nations peoples ... Canada ’ s railways are vehicles for expropriation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wetsuweten Rewind to 1878 when John A. Macdonald , the man who dreamed of a national railway , also began serving as superintendent general of Indian Affairs .
“ In his correspondence , ( Macdonald ) said he was managing Indigenous issues because ( it ) was of primary importance to completing the railway project , ” said James Daschuk , a professor at the University of Regina .
“ His goal is to build a railway , but to secure the railway , he had to take care of ‘ Indian affairs.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ treaties 1 to 7 cleared the western path for the railway ’ s construction .
In treaty negotiations with the Cree on the Saskatchewan plains , the government promised humanitarian aid in times of crises , but 18 months later , in 1876 , bison were disappearing .
The starving Cree went to the Indian agent for food .
From their lands , the hungry Cree were moved onto reserves fto the north .
The North West Mounted Police were ordered not to feed any “ non-treaty Indians ” south of the tracks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Canada ’ s National Observer .
On the reserve , the food provided was substandard .
“ People were so poor , so malnourished and so poorly dressed , and tuberculosis broke out like at a community-wide level.
” Once the tracks had been laid , the railway allowed for mass settlement of the territories across the country formerly occupied by First Nations .
“ Until the railway , the number of settlers was minuscule , ” Daschuk said .
The celebrated moment in the driving of the last spike “ signalled the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” said Daschuk .
From that same year until the mid-1930s , the Canadian government imposed an extralegal and little-known policy of segregation called the “ pass system , ” which prevented First Nations peoples from leaving their reserves without written consent from government officials .
“ For ( Macdonald ) to make sure the railway is complete , he not only subjugated First Nations people , he stomped on them , ” said Daschuk .
To this day , many First Nations believe they are still being stomped on .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as Indigenous Peoples really in this country is if we ’ re living on reserve , ” said Whitebean .
To Thomas Deer , historical and cultural liaison at the Kahnawake Language and Cultural Center , the CP is “ a symbol of expropriation , a symbol of how ( Mohawks ) became dispossessed from ( their ) land.
” Though CP and other railways never received formal permission from the community , the railway extended its line through the Mohawk territory from the 1880s onward .
“ CP was pretty wily in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” he explained .
“ Sometimes , they went directly to Indian Affairs and bypassed the community .
Sometimes , they went to community members themselves to lease out land or buy land .
They did whatever they could , playing sides off one another to get the approval from the Privy Council to expropriate land for the railway.
” As a child , Deer would play on the CP tracks and oil cars .
However , perception of the railway , especially CP , has grown more critical .
“ People @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the energy extraction industries ... that exploit our Indigenous communities , ” he said .
The government fears losing access to the land ’ s resources , Wickham said .
“ We clearly saw evidence of the government and industry working together on how they could exploit Wet ’ suwet ’ en resources and have complete access to them , knowing full well the implications of the decision of the Delgamuukw court case.
” To Wickham , the train cars carrying woodchips and lumber have destroyed more than the trees .
Local food @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deer , have grown scarcer , she said .
The caribou have completely disappeared .
Now she fears that pollution caused by the pipeline will kill the salmon and render the river water undrinkable .
“ It ’ s a calculated attack on who we are as a people , our way of living and governing ourselves.
” “ They continue to participate in the genocide of Indigenous Peoples through resource extraction and land expropriation , ” Whitebean said .
“ By putting us on reservations , they had free rein to our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ few generations , we might run out of land within our community.
” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau first ran for office with promises of reconciliation .
However , when the RCMP raided Wet ’ suwet ’ en territory donning military helmets and war-like tactical gear , and carried sniper rifles to once again “ sterilize the site ” for Crown-backed industry through unceded land , many saw the state ’ s fist instead of an extended hand .
One hundred thirty-five years ago , a week after the Canadian Pacific Railway was completed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ photo was snapped , Métis leader Louis Riel , who had once successfully negotiated with Ottawa for Métis land rights , was hanged for treason .
The railway transported Canada ’ s first army to crush Métis uprisings .
Nov. 7 marked the realization of John A. Macdonald ’ s “ national dream , ” the steel spine said to have triumphantly bound the west to the east to form Canada , a then new and united nation .
But to those who feel excluded from the grand designs of Macdonald ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ infrastructure projects may erode what remains of their nations within Canada , rather than bind them all together .
Joe Bongiorno is a freelance journalist and fiction author from Montreal .

Thousands of tourists flock to Craigellachie’s Last Spike Gift Shoppe each year. They pose for photos by the tracks and take turns re-enacting the 1885 photograph of Donald Smith driving in the last spike. But several hundred kilometres north, the Coastal GasLink pipeline is charging through the Wet’suwet’en territories that brought Canadian railways to a grinding halt. Nov. 7 marked the 135th anniversary of the Canadian Pacific Railway’s completion. Although the railway has always been a private corporation, it was — and remains — a wrought iron symbol of Confederation. But for First Nations peoples, Canada’s railways are vehicles for expropriation. “Hot metal screaming through the valleys, echoing loud enough to wake the mountains,” the voice of Wet’suwet’en poet Jennifer Wickham shakes as she recites a poem from her collection, I’m a Real Skin. “A procession of metal caskets carrying stolen goods: clickety clack clickety clack, cha-ching.” She wrote the poem when she lived in Burns Lake. There, the trains would echo across the water, waking her up multiple times a night. “I hate the trains,” she says. “Like, a lot.”
But in 2018, her community stood off with a different piece of Crown-backed, privately owned corporate infrastructure. Coastal GasLink had received approval from the Wet’suwet’en band council to build a pipeline on their territory, but not from the hereditary chiefs who traditionally govern their communities. Land and water “protectors” created blockades on the construction site to prevent the project from going forward, and this continued through 2019. “Stand up and fight back,” Molly Wickham, spokesperson for the Gidimt’en camp and Jennifer’s sister, urged in a YouTube video, “Shut down Canada.” Billion-dollar land deals in Ontario raise corruption suspicions From January 2020 until COVID-19 struck, protesters from coast to coast answered the call by blocking the country’s rails.
On the other side of the country in Kahnawake, Que., Mohawk filmmaker Roxann Whitebean was moved to block the rails when she saw Wet’suwet’en people being forcibly removed from their territory. "Nov. 7 marked the 135th anniversary of the Canadian Pacific Railway’s completion .. for First Nations peoples ... Canada’s railways are vehicles for expropriation," writes Joe Bongiorno. #Wetsuweten “Canada always projects itself as being the most peaceful country in the world, but that’s not the case for Indigenous Peoples,” said Whitebean. “That’s not our reality.” But why target the railways? Displaced by the 'national dream' Rewind to 1878 when John A. Macdonald, the man who dreamed of a national railway, also began serving as superintendent general of Indian Affairs.
“In his correspondence, (Macdonald) said he was managing Indigenous issues because (it) was of primary importance to completing the railway project,” said James Daschuk, a professor at the University of Regina. “His goal is to build a railway, but to secure the railway, he had to take care of ‘Indian affairs.’” Between 1871 and 1876, treaties 1 to 7 cleared the western path for the railway’s construction. In treaty negotiations with the Cree on the Saskatchewan plains, the government promised humanitarian aid in times of crises, but 18 months later, in 1876, bison were disappearing. The starving Cree went to the Indian agent for food. From their lands, the hungry Cree were moved onto reserves to the north. The North West Mounted Police were ordered not to feed any “non-treaty Indians” south of the tracks, Daschuk explained during an interview with Canada’s National Observer. On the reserve, the food provided was substandard. “People were so poor, so malnourished and so poorly dressed, and tuberculosis broke out like at a community-wide level.”


nationalobserver--2020-12-21--B.C. lacks strategy to address rising seas, flooding: coastal adaptation researcher

VANCOUVER — Parts of British Columbia could see massive losses if the province doesn ’ t start planning for flooding as ocean waters rise and storms surge due to climate change , says a researcher at the University of B.C .
in Vancouver .
B.C .
lacks a much-needed overarching authority to oversee coastal flood management and ecosystem conservation , said Kees Lokman , a professor of landscape architecture and the head of the university ’ s coastal adaptation lab .
Lokman recently received a $ 1-million grant for a four-year project dubbed `` Living with Water , '' which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ comprehensive , co-ordinated coastal flood adaptation plan in the province .
The findings will be available in an open-source database that will function as a toolkit to help communities plan for the future , he said .
The resources should help local and regional governments evaluate the merits and trade-offs of different adaptation options , he said , from reinforcing existing shorelines to retreating to higher ground .
• How one young scientist is protecting fragile ecosystems in Canada 's North `` We have time , '' said Lokman .
`` But we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be strategic in terms of how we protect , where we protect and when . ''
The majority of B.C .
residents live within a few kilometres of the province ’ s coastline , with more than 60 per cent living in the Lower Mainland .
Sea levels in the region are expected to rise around half a metre by 2050 and one metre by 2100 , according to a report commissioned by the B.C .
Environment Ministry in 2013 , while coastlines in Atlantic Canada may be even more sensitive to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a decision-making framework and outlines 21 different approaches to support local adaptation to rising seas .
But communities still lack the technical and ecological knowledge , policy guidance , funding and other supports they need , said Lokman .
`` Some municipalities have a coastal manager or an engineer that is strictly dealing with coastal issues , but in many municipalities , they have a storm water engineer that also now needs to become a coastal engineer , '' he said .
Parts of British Columbia could see massive losses if the province @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as ocean waters rise and storms surge due to climate change , says a researcher at the University of B.C .
in Vancouver .
# climatechange NASA has measured sea level rise along the U.S. west coast near B.C .
at 0.4 inches , or just over one centimetre , per year in the last five years .
One of the most serious consequences of rising seas is the risk of extreme flooding typically associated with storm surges coinciding with high tides .
`` If we wouldn ’ t have storm surges , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' said Lokman .
The Vancouver International Airport and critical shipping infrastructure in B.C.
’ s Lower Mainland are vulnerable to coastal flooding , he said .
Swaths of B.C.
’ s agricultural land reserve are located in the Fraser River floodplain and surging water could threaten food security , he added .
Sandbags can be found along the shore of popular beaches in Vancouver during `` king tides '' to limit nuisance flooding , said Lokman , noting the highest tides of the season are a good indicator of what ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re seeing flooding ( with ) king tide now , those areas will be permanently flooded , likely , with half a metre sea level rise . ''
The losses from rising seas and storm surges could be `` tremendous , '' said Lokman , from coastal habitats to real estate to culturally significant sites .
The best approaches to adaptation in some populous areas are conventional options like dikes and sea walls , said Lokman , pointing to False Creek in Vancouver .
The inlet is lined with condos and major infrastructure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ arena and Granville Island , a popular artist and tourist hub .

VANCOUVER — Parts of British Columbia could see massive losses if the province doesn’t start planning for flooding as ocean waters rise and storms surge due to climate change, says a researcher at the University of B.C. in Vancouver. B.C. lacks a much-needed overarching authority to oversee coastal flood management and ecosystem conservation, said Kees Lokman, a professor of landscape architecture and the head of the university’s coastal adaptation lab. Lokman recently received a $1-million grant for a four-year project dubbed "Living with Water," which aims to set the foundation for a comprehensive, co-ordinated coastal flood adaptation plan in the province. The findings will be available in an open-source database that will function as a toolkit to help communities plan for the future, he said. The resources should help local and regional governments evaluate the merits and trade-offs of different adaptation options, he said, from reinforcing existing shorelines to retreating to higher ground.
"We have time," said Lokman. "But we need a concerted effort and we need to be strategic in terms of how we protect, where we protect and when." The majority of B.C. residents live within a few kilometres of the province’s coastline, with more than 60 per cent living in the Lower Mainland. Billion-dollar land deals in Ontario raise corruption suspicions Sea levels in the region are expected to rise around half a metre by 2050 and one metre by 2100, according to a report commissioned by the B.C. Environment Ministry in 2013, while coastlines in Atlantic Canada may be even more sensitive to encroaching ocean waters.
That report recommends a decision-making framework and outlines 21 different approaches to support local adaptation to rising seas. Parts of British Columbia could see massive losses if the province doesn’t start planning for flooding as ocean waters rise and storms surge due to climate change, says a researcher at the University of B.C. in Vancouver. #climatechange But communities still lack the technical and ecological knowledge, policy guidance, funding and other supports they need, said Lokman. "Some municipalities have a coastal manager or an engineer that is strictly dealing with coastal issues, but in many municipalities, they have a storm water engineer that also now needs to become a coastal engineer," he said. NASA has measured sea level rise along the U.S. west coast near B.C. at 0.4 inches, or just over one centimetre, per year in the last five years. One of the most serious consequences of rising seas is the risk of extreme flooding typically associated with storm surges coinciding with high tides.
"If we wouldn’t have storm surges, it would be a lot easier," said Lokman. The Vancouver International Airport and critical shipping infrastructure in B.C.’s Lower Mainland are vulnerable to coastal flooding, he said. Swaths of B.C.’s agricultural land reserve are located in the Fraser River floodplain and surging water could threaten food security, he added.


nationalobserver--2020-12-21--Doug Ford demands more COVID-19 testing at airports as new variant emerges

OTTAWA — Ontario Premier Doug Ford blasted the federal government Monday for not moving faster on COVID-19 testing for incoming international travellers as a new variant prompted more border closures .
Late Sunday , the federal government announced it was banning all incoming passenger flights from the U.K. for 72 hours due to a new manifestation of the novel coronavirus dominating cases in that country .
The closure came after months of gradual easing up on who is allowed into Canada , after the near-total shutdown of entries back in March .
First , a very tight list of essential @ @ @ @ @ @ @ list was expanded to allow more workers , such as agricultural labourers .
Then the government expanded the list of eligible family members able to join or visit relatives in Canada , and has since expanded that list further .
Most incoming travellers are required to quarantine for 14 days and are screened for symptoms of COVID-19 .
If they violate quarantine , they can face heavy financial fines or jail time .
• How one young scientist is protecting fragile ecosystems in Canada 's North But Ford compared the way the border @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
He said close to 64,000 people arrived at Toronto ’ s Pearson airport last week alone and suggested they were basically unchecked .
`` Let ’ s get the testing at the airport and stop the leak , '' he said .
`` It doesn ’ t matter if there ’ s 10 people getting through , that ’ s 10 too many that are going to be out in the community spreading COVID . ''
The remarks came as Ford ordered a provincewide shutdown to slow the spread of the virus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ implement new measures as case counts in Canada rise rapidly .
He said he ’ s been asking the federal Liberals for months to move ahead with airport testing and the province gets the door slammed in its face .
`` It doesn ’ t matter if there ’ s 10 people getting through , that ’ s 10 too many that are going to be out in the community spreading COVID , '' Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Monday .
# COVID19 # cdnpoli He said the Ontario government will institute COVID-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the airport authority .
`` And if they don ’ t want to help us , well , we ’ ll be doing … checks on the side of the road as people exit because we ’ re not putting people at risk here at Ontario , '' he said .
Earlier this year , the federal government began a pilot project at the Calgary airport that sees people tested upon arrival .
If that test comes back negative , a traveller can leave quarantine as long as they return for a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they ’ ve landed .
As of Dec. 18 , 18,021 people had participated .
Less than one per cent of those who were tested a second time tested positive , according to data published by the province of Alberta .
Early science suggests the new variant of COVID-19 detected in Britain is more transmissible than other strains , though so far there is no evidence it has impact on the severity of symptoms , or the effectiveness of existing vaccines .
Still , the federal government said it was closing the border @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officials time to gather further evidence and conduct additional research .
Travellers from the U.K. who arrived in Canada Sunday were subject to secondary screening and enhanced scrutiny of their quarantine plans , Health Canada said .
Passengers who arrived `` recently '' will receive additional direction from the government , Health Canada said in a statement Monday .
Opposition critics said the border closure to the U.K. was a good move but questioned the timeline and what the Liberals actually know about this new variant of the virus .
`` I ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 72 hours .
I understand that they want to move in incremental steps but I ’ m not sure that we ’ re going to have the scientific basis for enough information in that quick period of time , '' NDP health critic Don Davies said at an unrelated event Monday .
In a statement , a spokeswoman for Conservative Leader Erin O ’ Toole said the party has long been calling for travel restrictions from high-risk regions , and yet throughout the pandemic international flights have continued to land .
The new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Tucker said , and is present in other countries .
“ Now , we are left wondering if the new COVID-19 variant in the U.K. is already in Canada , '' Chelsea Tucker said in an email .
Health Canada said it is analyzing Canadian cases to determine if the variant has previously been observed in the country .
Whether or not to shut the border to travellers from specific regions was a flashpoint in the public debate around Canada ’ s response to COVID-19 in the early days of the pandemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had demanded travellers from China be banned , given the novel coronavirus is believed to have originated in that country .
Research has since shown that cases that spread in Canada mostly originated in people coming from Europe and the United States .
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 21 , 2020 .

OTTAWA — Ontario Premier Doug Ford blasted the federal government Monday for not moving faster on COVID-19 testing for incoming international travellers as a new variant prompted more border closures. Late Sunday, the federal government announced it was banning all incoming passenger flights from the U.K. for 72 hours due to a new manifestation of the novel coronavirus dominating cases in that country. The closure came after months of gradual easing up on who is allowed into Canada, after the near-total shutdown of entries back in March. First, a very tight list of essential workers were allowed in. Then that list was expanded to allow more workers, such as agricultural labourers. Then the government expanded the list of eligible family members able to join or visit relatives in Canada, and has since expanded that list further. Most incoming travellers are required to quarantine for 14 days and are screened for symptoms of COVID-19. If they violate quarantine, they can face heavy financial fines or jail time.
But Ford compared the way the border is being managed to a leaky roof. He said close to 64,000 people arrived at Toronto’s Pearson airport last week alone and suggested they were basically unchecked. Billion-dollar land deals in Ontario raise corruption suspicions "Let’s get the testing at the airport and stop the leak," he said.
"It doesn’t matter if there’s 10 people getting through, that’s 10 too many that are going to be out in the community spreading COVID." "It doesn’t matter if there’s 10 people getting through, that’s 10 too many that are going to be out in the community spreading COVID," Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Monday. #COVID19 #cdnpoli The remarks came as Ford ordered a provincewide shutdown to slow the spread of the virus, becoming the latest provincial leader to implement new measures as case counts in Canada rise rapidly. He said he’s been asking the federal Liberals for months to move ahead with airport testing and the province gets the door slammed in its face. He said the Ontario government will institute COVID-19 tests at Pearson airport with the help of the airport authority. "And if they don’t want to help us, well, we’ll be doing … checks on the side of the road as people exit because we’re not putting people at risk here at Ontario," he said.
Earlier this year, the federal government began a pilot project at the Calgary airport that sees people tested upon arrival. If that test comes back negative, a traveller can leave quarantine as long as they return for a second test six or seven days after they’ve landed. As of Dec. 18, 18,021 people had participated. Less than one per cent of those who were tested a second time tested positive, according to data published by the province of Alberta. Early science suggests the new variant of COVID-19 detected in Britain is more transmissible than other strains, though so far there is no evidence it has impact on the severity of symptoms, or the effectiveness of existing vaccines.


nationalobserver--2020-12-21--First Nations speak out about work with contractor linked to Neskantaga water crisis

Gee said he encountered these recurring problems while overseeing the work of a construction firm , Kingdom Construction Limited ( KCL ) , during the building of a water treatment plant 10 years ago in Wasauksing First Nation , along the eastern shore of Georgian Bay , about 250 kilometres north of Toronto .
“ They cut corners every day , every day , ” said Justin Gee , vice-president of First Nations Engineering Services Ltd .
They had unqualified workers on site and required constant supervision , according to one engineer ’ s blunt assessment .
In October , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were evacuated to Thunder Bay due to a water shut-off after a non-toxic oily sheen was discovered in the water reservoir .
This left residents without the ability to bathe or flush the toilet , let alone boil water for cooking or drinking .
Three of the cases have also triggered legal action , including Neskantaga , a First Nation in northern Ontario on Canada ’ s longest-running boil water advisory .
Indigenous Services Canada has stated that the department has supplied $ 90 million in funding for the seven projects .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Five of the projects have been peppered with a range of allegations including excessive overcharges , deficient work , delays and racism , reveals an investigation by a consortium of journalists from Concordia University ’ s Institute for Investigative Journalism ( IIJ ) , Global News and APTN News .
Today , this plant is among seven First Nations water and wastewater infrastructure projects in two provinces , funded by the federal government , that have all involved work by KCL , an Ontario-based firm .
“ You have to be on them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said Gee , who was the contract administrator on the project .
“ You can ’ t leave them on their own.
” Despite guidelines that suggest preference be given to companies with a clean performance record , Indigenous Services Canada does not track information about companies that receive contracts for water projects in First Nations communities .
While not referring specifically to KCL , many First Nations told journalists that although cost overruns and delays can affect a variety of infrastructure projects , long-standing federal government procurement policies have forced them to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with contractors that often aren ’ t capable of delivering what ’ s required to ensure clean water on time and on budget .
Over several months , journalists from the consortium reviewed hundreds of pages of court documents and internal records related to KCL , while conducting dozens of interviews with First Nations leaders , members of communities , water operators , and former and current government officials across the country .
“ In urban areas , they have problems with water and you see them being addressed right away .
Mine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on 26 years .
Tell me that ’ s not systemic racism , ” said Neskantaga Chief Chris Moonias .
“ These are investigations that we are willing to support , notably through the initiative of Chief Chris Moonias and Neskantaga , to ensure that where we identify mistakes or sharp practices or shoddy work , that doesn ’ t reproduce and cascade from community to community , ” Miller said in an interview .
Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller said the crisis in Neskantaga is a “ particularly acute example ” of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ agreed to calls from Moonias for an independent investigation into the actions of engineers and companies who worked on this project .
KCL was hired in 2017 to construct upgrades to Neskantaga ’ s water treatment plant .
The company was never able to complete the job because Neskantaga asked it to leave the reserve in February 2019 amid ongoing delays on a project that was originally estimated at $ 8.8 million , but has cost the federal government at least $ 16.4 million .
The company ’ s president Gerald Landry said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ community , it discovered that the situation was “ materially different ” than what it had expected , based on the contract .
“ There were a few large issues that delayed the contract and eventually the owner got upset and terminated the contract , ” Landry said .
A general contractor based in Ayr , Ont.
, KCL has multiple clients that include some major municipalities and has also received contracts to work on water and wastewater systems in Slate Falls Nation , Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation and Pic Mobert @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mathias Colomb Cree Nation and Peguis First Nation in Manitoba .
Landry said the company does the work required in its contracts , and he disputes any allegations its work was not adequate .
READ MORE : This Ontario First Nation has been under a boil water advisory for 25 years .
Now Ottawa is investigating In November , Landry told APTN News that his company had the best intentions when it started doing contracts in First Nations , but that era was now over : “ No more Native work for us @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” “ The reason is it ’ s just too complicated .
There ’ s too much politics , too many players , everybody ’ s trying to cover their butt , ” he said .
“ It ’ s very difficult .
You have to play the game , and we just don ’ t want to play any more games.
” In the interview , Landry described federal funding for water infrastructure provided to First Nations communities as “ a bunch of free money given to people for nothing , that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ When people get given stuff all their life again , and again , and again , and again , I don ’ t think that ’ s a good solution to problems , ” he said .
“ We wish Neskantaga and every other Native community nothing but the best in the future.
” In a subsequent emailed statement , Landry apologized for using “ culturally insensitive ” and “ outdated ” language .
“ I wish to sincerely apologize for using it in a recent media interview , ” he said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ without clean drinking water in our country and this is completely unacceptable .
We did our very best to help fix this problem where we could , the solutions to this problem are complex and dependent on many different factors and parties.
” Dawn Martin-Hill , an associate professor of Indigenous studies at McMaster University , said that Landry ’ s statements from the interview with APTN News are similar to racist comments commonly directed at Indigenous people .
“ We deal with that kind of sentiment on a daily basis , whether @ @ @ @ @ @ @ education or free this , like that ’ s the mantra to justify the deplorable conditions Indigenous people have been forced to live in , ” said Martin-Hill .
“ Any time we try to get those things resolved , everybody screams money , money , money .
And we ’ re like , do you scream that if it ’ s white people ?
Like , do you care how much it cost to get Walkerton fixed ?
” In the end , KCL received a settlement of $ 1.9 million .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ in October to settle a legal claim KCL launched after Neskantaga removed the company from the project , the consortium reported on Dec. 10 .
According to the community ’ s lawyer , Evan Juurakko of Ericksons LLP , the payment was for “ monies owed under the terminated contract and there were no damages paid for breach of contract.
” Landry said the company pursued claims for damages and that claims were settled in a “ mutually satisfactory manner.
” “ We are the contractor and not the designer or the owner @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for our contract work .
The engineers of record are tasked with clarifying the contract in the event there are questions , as well as to certify the work performed , which was done , and we were paid accordingly for the appropriate amount completed , ” Landry said in a statement .
In 2014 the company was hired by Netmizaaggamig Nishnaabeg , an Ojibwe First Nation also known as Pic Mobert , located in northwestern Ontario .
At the time , Dave Craig was the water and wastewater manager for the First @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to observe construction of the new water treatment plant to assess the completeness of the project .
Craig , an engineer , has worked in water and wastewater for 20 years in rural northern communities and First Nations .
He said he was overwhelmed by the construction deficiencies he found .
“ It got to me , ” he said .
“ There [ were ] over 250 at one point.
” Craig said deficiencies , construction issues , spanned from minor to serious safety concerns .
“ Things that were in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Tools , lab equipment , and they started cutting corners on things , like , rather than sufficient tools , they ’ d go down to , like , ToolTown and buy a $ 4 set of tools .
Lab equipment — they substituted all the glass equipment for plastic , ” said Craig .
However , he could not provide documentation of these issues .
READ MORE : Indigenous Services minister says Trudeau government won ’ t end boil-water advisories by March 2021 Craig said most concerning at the time were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ properly , including gas detectors , which help prevent dangerous situations for plant workers .
“ We found they never hooked them up .
When we took the cap off the box , the wires were all rolled up in a little ball.
” Orville McWatch was the water plant operator who worked in Pic Mobert after the construction .
He , too , worried about the alarms he said had not been installed .
“ I thought about it every day , ” he said .
“ If I walk into that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , I could obviously get sick or if two chemicals are mixed together , they actually create a gas and it could kill me.
” Norman Jaehrling , CEO for the First Nation , said KCL was similar to the other contractors doing work for the First Nation .
“ We typically have issues with most general contractors , and for that matter , with engineers and architects , on all major projects .
Kingdom was no exception.
” He said change orders drove the price of the project over the anticipated budget @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the government for additional funding .
Jaehrling said a deficiency encountered on the project , a leak in the distribution system , has never been properly addressed .
He said he has documentation of these deficiencies , but due to a COVID-19 outbreak in the area can not find it .
In 2018 , KCL was hired by Peguis First Nation , about 200 kilometres north of Winnipeg , for the community ’ s water treatment plant and sewage lagoon upgrades .
Work on the $ 11.9-million project began in April 2018 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ completed by December 2020 .
Chief Glenn Hudson said that in Peguis , the community received work that didn ’ t meet code , threatened to contaminate drinking water and nearby waterways , and put wastewater operators at risk .
“ The project was two years over schedule .
And obviously , they weren ’ t working with us on a regular basis , on a communicating and decision-making basis , ” said Hudson .
The community is addressing the remaining deficiencies using labour and expertise from the community .
He said KCL @ @ @ @ @ @ @ work on his First Nation , seemed to be out of its depth , and lacked cultural sensitivity .
“ We have people here in our community ( who ) can do this work , and they were kind of reluctant to hire them , ” said Hudson .
He doesn ’ t know why , exactly , but suspects community members were overlooked because they are Indigenous , “ probably because of the racist approach , systematic racism within their company , ” he said .
KCL ’ s president said it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” “ We have the utmost respect for the members of the communities in which we have worked and pride ourselves on the efforts we have made to foster good working relationships , ” Landry said .
“ We are not aware of any evidence of racism by Kingdom or its employees – we take any allegation of racism very seriously and have very strict policies and procedures in place to deal with any potential issue.
” Indigenous Services Canada spokesperson Leslie Michelson confirmed that in May 2020 , the community terminated its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the contractor ’ s performance and lack of use of local resources .
Kingdom Construction agreed to terminate the contract and leave the remaining work to be completed by the First Nation ’ s own construction company , Chief Peguis Industries ( CPI ) .
” In 2015 KCL was hired to build Slate Falls Nation ’ s $ 11.6-million water treatment plant .
The federal investment was made to end what would become a 14-year boil water advisory in the northwestern Ontario community .
However , less than six months after the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new boil water advisory , which lasted 10 and a half months , from August 29 , 2018 , to July 11 , 2019 .
Tom Sayers oversees water operations for five First Nations , including Slate Falls , in his role as the overall responsible operator for Windigo First Nations Council .
He was also tasked with evaluating the final stages of construction on the new plant .
“ There was quite a lengthy list of deficiencies , ” said Sayers .
“ We found that the product that Slate Falls was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the ability or things in place that would meet the Ontario regulation.
” He said it was clear from the contract documents that the company ’ s work was obliged to meet this standard .
He said both he and the Ontario Ministry of Environment ’ s Indigenous Drinking Water Projects Office did inspections , which concluded the plant was not meeting Ontario standards .
The report from the province stated that in 2015 , it issued a letter that indicated that the plant had the potential to meet provincial requirements “ if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the design provided by the project consultant.
” While the 2018 report concluded the plant was not meeting Ontario standards , it did not assign blame .
Sayers said one of the primary issues he found was with the UV system used to disinfect the water : “ If that primary disinfection isn ’ t working properly , or it ’ s not tracked , there ’ s a risk to the community of a waterborne illness.
” While KCL said on its website that it meets with “ the ruling elders and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mutually work together and partner to achieve common goals , ” Chief Lorraine Crane of Slate Falls said the relationship was difficult for her and other community leaders .
READ MORE : 5 years after TRC report , commissioners warn anti-Indigenous racism is escalating She described it as , “ really bad , really ugly.
” In January 2020 , KCL sued Slate Falls , claiming it failed to pay the bill for unforeseen expenses that arose on the project .
The company ’ s statement of claim asserted , “ Slate Falls @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supply of its services and labour.
” In the First Nation ’ s statement of defence and counterclaim , it stated that the work the company claimed was unpaid was not extra to its contract .
The First Nation stated in legal documents that it continues to suffer damages due to the company ’ s failure to repair deficiencies .
The community alleges in the legal documents that “ Kingdom acted in bad faith and performed its obligations under the Contract negligently , carelessly and unskillfully and in breach of the obligations that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ As a result of Kingdom ’ s failure to rectify outstanding deficiencies , a Boil Water Advisory was put in place on August 29 , 2018 .
It was not lifted until July 11 , 2019 , after Slate Falls retained a third party to correct deficiencies , ” the community alleges .
The community denies any money is owed to KCL and if there is money owed , “ it is due to inaccurate drawings and design by the engineering firm Keewatin-Aski Ltd. ” Keewatin-Aski Ltd. did not respond to a request @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is an assistant professor of civil engineering at the University of Calgary who has worked extensively with Indigenous communities on infrastructure issues .
She said complaints about contractors and lawsuits between contractors and engineering firms are common , and “ the standard approach for a contractor would be to blame the designer .
The designer blames the contractor.
” She also noted that for communities that have been on boil water advisories for years , there is heightened scrutiny that wouldn ’ t be present in a municipal project .
“ We believe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ any given moment of the day , you can turn on the tap and drink the water .
That is a fundamentally different process as soon as you step onto First Nations , ” says Black .
The Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation In May , the company finished the majority of the work on a new water treatment plant and distribution system for the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation in southern Ontario .
Kelvin Jamieson was the project manager .
He said that while there were several change orders and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he doesn ’ t believe that anything was out of the ordinary .
“ I ’ m going to say they ’ re probably no different than the general run of contractors , ” said Jamieson .
“ I would still give KCL a reference .
They have ... finished the project for the First Nation that they are happy with .
It runs according to the design specs.
” Chief of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation ( MSIFN ) Kelly LaRocca was reached for comment but said “ Our First @ @ @ @ @ @ @ non-disparagement clause as a means of moving the project forward through towards completion .
Therefore , I am not at liberty to comment as to any complaints.
” She noted that “ the engineers and project manager ’ s vigilance on the project [ have ] made it a success for the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation , and we will soon have clean water for our community after much hard work , commitment , and perseverance by our entire MSIFN water project team.
” KCL has said on its website that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ long-lasting , and committed relationship to the First Nations communities in Ontario and Manitoba.
” Ryan Tabobondung , director of public works for Wasauksing First Nation , where KCL worked in 2010 , said the relationship was strained , calling it “ adversarial , almost hostile.
” “ If I was asked today if I would recommend Kingdom to work on a water treatment plant for any First Nation , my answer would be no , ” said Tabobondung .
Tabobondung said issues with KCL arose early in the contract , when the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that would drive up the cost of the project .
“ We were hit with a significant amount of extras , ” he said , adding he remembers one change request coming in for almost $ 1-million .
“ It seems that there was a lot of emphasis placed on finding inconsistencies in the drawings , or possible errors so that it could be charged back.
” READ MORE : Why some First Nations still don ’ t have clean drinking water — despite Trudeau ’ s promise Documents from July 2011 reviewed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the federal government would have been aware that “ KCL was behind schedule by a number of months.
” Leslie Michelson , spokesperson for Indigenous Services Canada ( ISC ) said “ in the case of Wasauksing ’ s water treatment plant project , Kingdom Construction was awarded the construction contract and completed construction in June 2012 .
ISC officials participated on the project team , and were made aware of issues raised regarding the construction phase of the project.
” KCL says work was performed to the “ highest quality standards.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the chief and band office for Mathias Colomb Cree Nation over several months regarding KCL ’ s work on their wastewater treatment plant , however no one was made available for comment .
Landry did not respond to all of the specific allegations , explaining that he could not comment on concerns that did not relate to the scope of KCL ’ s work .
He also said his company ’ s work was always performed to the highest standards , and that any other suggestion was “ categorically false.
” “ We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ done in First Nations communities using our considerable experience with water and wastewater projects across Canada .
Our work is conducted with the utmost care according to what has been prescribed in our contracts , which are based on engineers designs , plans and specifications .
We never walk away from our obligations.
” READ MORE : Manitoba ’ s First Nations children face barriers in nearly every socioeconomic factor Landry added that the company provides a one-year warranty on all construction work and “ always [ addresses ] any lingering issues in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Inherently , all construction projects have deficiencies and those are addressed in the scope of our work and certified by the engineer when they are satisfied with the final work .
Final project payment certificates , signed by the project engineer , confirm the terms of the contract have been met .
In any project , there can be unforeseen expenses and potential delays , but these additional costs are always approved by the design ( engineers ) based on the facts on the ground .
Payments are rewarded accordingly , and only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ asked if Indigenous Services Canada knew of concerns in other communities prior to KCL ’ s bid for work in Neskantaga .
Michelson , a spokesperson for ISC , said officials were made aware of issues raised during the construction phase in Wasauksing , but did not comment on whether the department was aware of broader concerns .
“ ISC provides funding to First Nations to undertake infrastructure projects that they propose , ” Michelson said .
“ First Nations hire professional project managers to manage the project on their behalf and consultants @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the construction contract .
First Nations are responsible for tendering the construction portion of the project , with assistance from their project manager and consultant , in accordance with all applicable laws , policies and regulations.
” —With additional reporting from Melissa Ridgen , Brittany Hobson ( APTN ) , Laurence Brisson Dubreuil ( IIJ , Concordia University ) , Emma Wilkie ( IIJ , University of King ’ s College ) , Krista Hessey , Daina Goldfinger and Katherine Ward , Global News .
Below is the full response from Gerald Landry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to questions from our investigation : Further to my ( response ) yesterday where I outlined some of the inherent complexity of lump-sum hard bid projects , I wanted to provide you with answers to your questions regarding the work we have done with First Nations communities over the past decade .
Hopefully I address your questions in my response and provide you with more context about how we have performed difficult work in remote communities , in collaboration with First Nations , Engineers , other trades , suppliers and government funders .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ saying that our construction work is always performed to the very highest quality standards .
We pride ourselves in doing excellent work and public documentation and project payment certificates can attest to this .
Any suggestion otherwise is categorically false .
We are proud of the work we have done in First Nations communities using our considerable experience with water and wastewater projects across Canada .
Our work is conducted with the utmost care according to what has been prescribed in our contracts , which are based on Engineers designs , plans and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our obligations .
We perform the work as outlined in our contract and as such , can not comment on concerns being raised when they are not part of our scope of work .
We provide a one-year warranty on our construction work and always address any lingering issues in accordance with our contractual obligations .
Inherently , all construction projects have deficiencies and those are addressed in the scope of our work and certified by the engineer when they are satisfied with the final work .
Final project payment certificates , signed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ terms of the contract have been met .
In any project , there can be unforeseen expenses and potential delays , but these additional costs are always approved by the design Engineers based on the facts on the ground .
Payments are rewarded accordingly , and only when work is completed .
Even when we had successfully completed our share of the work on these projects we understand the disappointment that is felt when there is dissatisfaction with the outcome or the project as a whole is not ultimately completed .
We have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the communities in which we have worked and pride ourselves on the efforts we have made to Foster good working relationships .
We are not aware of any evidence of racism by Kingdom or its employees – we take any allegation of racism very seriously and have very strict policies and procedures in place to deal with any potential issue .
I acknowledge the use of the term Native is culturally insensitive and outdated and I wish to sincerely apologize for using it in a recent media interview .
We understand many people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our country and this is completely unacceptable .
Why we did our very best to help fix this problem where we could , the solutions to this problem are complex and dependant on many different factors and parties .
I sincerely hope the above is helpful in understanding the original contractors point of view .

Today, this plant is among seven First Nations water and wastewater infrastructure projects in two provinces, funded by the federal government, that have all involved work by KCL, an Ontario-based firm.
“You have to be on them every step of the way,” said Gee, who was the contract administrator on the project. “You can’t leave them on their own.”
Gee said he encountered these recurring problems while overseeing the work of a construction firm, Kingdom Construction Limited (KCL), during the building of a water treatment plant 10 years ago in Wasauksing First Nation , along the eastern shore of Georgian Bay, about 250 kilometres north of Toronto.
“They cut corners every day, every day,” said Justin Gee, vice-president of First Nations Engineering Services Ltd.
They had unqualified workers on site and required constant supervision, according to one engineer’s blunt assessment.
In October, more than 250 members of the community were evacuated to Thunder Bay due to a water shut-off after a non-toxic oily sheen was discovered in the water reservoir. This left residents without the ability to bathe or flush the toilet, let alone boil water for cooking or drinking.
Three of the cases have also triggered legal action, including Neskantaga , a First Nation in northern Ontario on Canada’s longest-running boil water advisory.
Indigenous Services Canada has stated that the department has supplied $90 million in funding for the seven projects. The total received by KCL is unknown. Five of the projects have been peppered with a range of allegations including excessive overcharges, deficient work, delays and racism, reveals an investigation by a consortium of journalists from Concordia University’s Institute for Investigative Journalism (IIJ), Global News and APTN News .
Over several months, journalists from the consortium reviewed hundreds of pages of court documents and internal records related to KCL, while conducting dozens of interviews with First Nations leaders, members of communities, water operators, and former and current government officials across the country.
“In urban areas, they have problems with water and you see them being addressed right away. Mine has taken 25 years already, going on 26 years. Tell me that’s not systemic racism,” said Neskantaga Chief Chris Moonias.
Despite guidelines that suggest preference be given to companies with a clean performance record, Indigenous Services Canada does not track information about companies that receive contracts for water projects in First Nations communities.
While not referring specifically to KCL, many First Nations told journalists that although cost overruns and delays can affect a variety of infrastructure projects, long-standing federal government procurement policies have forced them to choose the lowest bidders, leaving them with contractors that often aren’t capable of delivering what’s required to ensure clean water on time and on budget.
READ MORE: Trudeau gov. approved $1.9M for contractor that didn’t complete Neskantaga water project on time
The absence of information now poses an obstacle.
Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller said the crisis in Neskantaga is a “particularly acute example” of issues with third-party contractors, and has agreed to calls from Moonias for an independent investigation into the actions of engineers and companies who worked on this project.
“These are investigations that we are willing to support, notably through the initiative of Chief Chris Moonias and Neskantaga, to ensure that where we identify mistakes or sharp practices or shoddy work, that doesn’t reproduce and cascade from community to community,” Miller said in an interview.
KCL was hired in 2017 to construct upgrades to Neskantaga’s water treatment plant. The company was never able to complete the job because Neskantaga asked it to leave the reserve in February 2019 amid ongoing delays on a project that was originally estimated at $8.8 million, but has cost the federal government at least $16.4 million.
The company’s president Gerald Landry said that when his company arrived in the community, it discovered that the situation was “materially different” than what it had expected, based on the contract.
“There were a few large issues that delayed the contract and eventually the owner got upset and terminated the contract,” Landry said.
A general contractor based in Ayr, Ont., KCL has multiple clients that include some major municipalities and has also received contracts to work on water and wastewater systems in Slate Falls Nation, Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation and Pic Mobert First Nation in Ontario as well as Mathias Colomb Cree Nation and Peguis First Nation in Manitoba.
Landry said the company does the work required in its contracts, and he disputes any allegations its work was not adequate.
READ MORE: This Ontario First Nation has been under a boil water advisory for 25 years. Now Ottawa is investigating
In November, Landry told APTN News that his company had the best intentions when it started doing contracts in First Nations, but that era was now over: “No more Native work for us. We’ve had enough now.”
“The reason is it’s just too complicated. There’s too much politics, too many players, everybody’s trying to cover their butt,” he said.
“It’s very difficult. You have to play the game, and we just don’t want to play any more games.”
In the interview, Landry described federal funding for water infrastructure provided to First Nations communities as “a bunch of free money given to people for nothing, that they never paid for necessarily.”
“When people get given stuff all their life again, and again, and again, and again, I don’t think that’s a good solution to problems,” he said. “We wish Neskantaga and every other Native community nothing but the best in the future.”
In a subsequent emailed statement, Landry apologized for using “culturally insensitive” and “outdated” language.
“I wish to sincerely apologize for using it in a recent media interview,” he said. “We understand many people are still without clean drinking water in our country and this is completely unacceptable. We did our very best to help fix this problem where we could, the solutions to this problem are complex and dependent on many different factors and parties.”
"I just got back from Neskantaga," wrote Chief Chris Moonias on his Nov 24 Twitter feed. "This sign stands on top of the hill where the water treatment plant is."
Dawn Martin-Hill, an associate professor of Indigenous studies at McMaster University, said that Landry’s statements from the interview with APTN News are similar to racist comments commonly directed at Indigenous people.
“We deal with that kind of sentiment on a daily basis, whether they think we’re getting free education or free this, like that’s the mantra to justify the deplorable conditions Indigenous people have been forced to live in,” said Martin-Hill.
“Any time we try to get those things resolved, everybody screams money, money, money. And we’re like, do you scream that if it’s white people? Like, do you care how much it cost to get Walkerton fixed?”
In the end, KCL received a settlement of $1.9 million. This was approved by the federal government in October to settle a legal claim KCL launched after Neskantaga removed the company from the project, the consortium reported on Dec. 10.
According to the community’s lawyer, Evan Juurakko of Ericksons LLP, the payment was for “monies owed under the terminated contract and there were no damages paid for breach of contract.”
Landry said the company pursued claims for damages and that claims were settled in a “mutually satisfactory manner.”
“We are the contractor and not the designer or the owner, so we can only be responsible for our contract work. The engineers of record are tasked with clarifying the contract in the event there are questions, as well as to certify the work performed, which was done, and we were paid accordingly for the appropriate amount completed,” Landry said in a statement.
Pic Mobert
In 2014 the company was hired by Netmizaaggamig Nishnaabeg, an Ojibwe First Nation also known as Pic Mobert, located in northwestern Ontario.
At the time, Dave Craig was the water and wastewater manager for the First Nation. One of his roles was to observe construction of the new water treatment plant to assess the completeness of the project. Craig, an engineer, has worked in water and wastewater for 20 years in rural northern communities and First Nations.
He said he was overwhelmed by the construction deficiencies he found.
“It got to me,” he said. “There [were] over 250 at one point.”
Craig said deficiencies, construction issues, spanned from minor to serious safety concerns.
“Things that were in the specification that just weren’t delivered. Tools, lab equipment, and they started cutting corners on things, like, rather than sufficient tools, they’d go down to, like, ToolTown and buy a $4 set of tools. Lab equipment — they substituted all the glass equipment for plastic,” said Craig. However, he could not provide documentation of these issues.
READ MORE: Indigenous Services minister says Trudeau government won’t end boil-water advisories by March 2021
Craig said most concerning at the time were safety features that had not been installed properly, including gas detectors, which help prevent dangerous situations for plant workers.
“We found they never hooked them up. When we took the cap off the box, the wires were all rolled up in a little ball.”
Orville McWatch was the water plant operator who worked in Pic Mobert after the construction. He, too, worried about the alarms he said had not been installed.
“I thought about it every day,” he said. “If I walk into that room and (there are) chemicals, I could obviously get sick or if two chemicals are mixed together, they actually create a gas and it could kill me.”
Norman Jaehrling, CEO for the First Nation, said KCL was similar to the other contractors doing work for the First Nation.
“We typically have issues with most general contractors, and for that matter, with engineers and architects, on all major projects. Kingdom was no exception.”
He said change orders drove the price of the project over the anticipated budget and the community had to go back to the government for additional funding.
Jaehrling said a deficiency encountered on the project, a leak in the distribution system, has never been properly addressed. He said he has documentation of these deficiencies, but due to a COVID-19 outbreak in the area cannot find it.
Peguis
An image of the Peguis First Nation Band office. Peguis Band Office / Supplied
In 2018, KCL was hired by Peguis First Nation, about 200 kilometres north of Winnipeg, for the community’s water treatment plant and sewage lagoon upgrades. Work on the $11.9-million project began in April 2018, and was expected to be substantially completed by December 2020.
Chief Glenn Hudson said that in Peguis, the community received work that didn’t meet code, threatened to contaminate drinking water and nearby waterways, and put wastewater operators at risk.
Peguis asked the company to leave.
“The project was two years over schedule. And obviously, they weren’t working with us on a regular basis, on a communicating and decision-making basis,” said Hudson.
The community is addressing the remaining deficiencies using labour and expertise from the community. He said KCL didn’t seem to be prioritizing work on his First Nation, seemed to be out of its depth, and lacked cultural sensitivity.
“We have people here in our community (who) can do this work, and they were kind of reluctant to hire them,” said Hudson.
He doesn’t know why, exactly, but suspects community members were overlooked because they are Indigenous, “probably because of the racist approach, systematic racism within their company,” he said.
KCL’s president said it takes all allegations of racism “seriously.”
“We have the utmost respect for the members of the communities in which we have worked and pride ourselves on the efforts we have made to foster good working relationships,” Landry said. “We are not aware of any evidence of racism by Kingdom or its employees – we take any allegation of racism very seriously and have very strict policies and procedures in place to deal with any potential issue.”
Indigenous Services Canada spokesperson Leslie Michelson confirmed that in May 2020, the community terminated its contract with KCL “citing dissatisfaction with the contractor’s performance and lack of use of local resources. Kingdom Construction agreed to terminate the contract and leave the remaining work to be completed by the First Nation’s own construction company, Chief Peguis Industries (CPI).”
Slate Falls Nation
In 2015 KCL was hired to build Slate Falls Nation’s $11.6-million water treatment plant. The federal investment was made to end what would become a 14-year boil water advisory in the northwestern Ontario community.
However, less than six months after the grand opening, the community enacted a new boil water advisory, which lasted 10 and a half months, from August 29, 2018, to July 11, 2019.
Tom Sayers oversees water operations for five First Nations, including Slate Falls, in his role as the overall responsible operator for Windigo First Nations Council. He was also tasked with evaluating the final stages of construction on the new plant.
Like Craig, he found issues.
“There was quite a lengthy list of deficiencies,” said Sayers. “We found that the product that Slate Falls was going to get didn’t have the ability or things in place that would meet the Ontario regulation.”
He said it was clear from the contract documents that the company’s work was obliged to meet this standard.
He said both he and the Ontario Ministry of Environment’s Indigenous Drinking Water Projects Office did inspections, which concluded the plant was not meeting Ontario standards. The report from the province stated that in 2015, it issued a letter that indicated that the plant had the potential to meet provincial requirements “if constructed, operated and maintained according to the design provided by the project consultant.” While the 2018 report concluded the plant was not meeting Ontario standards, it did not assign blame.
Sayers said one of the primary issues he found was with the UV system used to disinfect the water: “If that primary disinfection isn’t working properly, or it’s not tracked, there’s a risk to the community of a waterborne illness.”
While KCL said on its website that it meets with “the ruling elders and or council to discuss how we can mutually work together and partner to achieve common goals,” Chief Lorraine Crane of Slate Falls said the relationship was difficult for her and other community leaders.
READ MORE: 5 years after TRC report, commissioners warn anti-Indigenous racism is escalating
She described it as, “really bad, really ugly.”
In January 2020, KCL sued Slate Falls, claiming it failed to pay the bill for unforeseen expenses that arose on the project. The company’s statement of claim asserted, “Slate Falls has been unjustly enriched by the uncompensated supply of its services and labour.”
In the First Nation’s statement of defence and counterclaim, it stated that the work the company claimed was unpaid was not extra to its contract. The First Nation stated in legal documents that it continues to suffer damages due to the company’s failure to repair deficiencies.
The community alleges in the legal documents that “Kingdom acted in bad faith and performed its obligations under the Contract negligently, carelessly and unskillfully and in breach of the obligations that it owed to Slate Falls.”
“As a result of Kingdom’s failure to rectify outstanding deficiencies, a Boil Water Advisory was put in place on August 29, 2018. It was not lifted until July 11, 2019, after Slate Falls retained a third party to correct deficiencies,” the community alleges.
The community denies any money is owed to KCL and if there is money owed, “it is due to inaccurate drawings and design by the engineering firm Keewatin-Aski Ltd.”
Keewatin-Aski Ltd. did not respond to a request for comment by deadline.
Kerry Black is an assistant professor of civil engineering at the University of Calgary who has worked extensively with Indigenous communities on infrastructure issues. She said complaints about contractors and lawsuits between contractors and engineering firms are common, and “the standard approach for a contractor would be to blame the designer. The designer blames the contractor.”
She also noted that for communities that have been on boil water advisories for years, there is heightened scrutiny that wouldn’t be present in a municipal project.
“We believe, without a doubt, that at any given moment of the day, you can turn on the tap and drink the water. That is a fundamentally different process as soon as you step onto First Nations,” says Black.
Lawsuits between contractors and engineering firms are common, says Kerry Black, an assistant professor of civil engineering at the University of Calgary. Photo by re-engineer research
The Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation
In May, the company finished the majority of the work on a new water treatment plant and distribution system for the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation in southern Ontario.
Kelvin Jamieson was the project manager. He said that while there were several change orders and a five-month delay on the project, he doesn’t believe that anything was out of the ordinary.
“I’m going to say they’re probably no different than the general run of contractors,” said Jamieson.
“I would still give KCL a reference. They have ... finished the project for the First Nation that they are happy with. It runs according to the design specs.”
Chief of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation (MSIFN) Kelly LaRocca was reached for comment but said “Our First Nation entered into a mutual confidentiality and non-disparagement clause as a means of moving the project forward through towards completion. Therefore, I am not at liberty to comment as to any complaints.”
She noted that “the engineers and project manager’s vigilance on the project [have] made it a success for the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation, and we will soon have clean water for our community after much hard work, commitment, and perseverance by our entire MSIFN water project team.”
Wasauksing First Nation
KCL has said on its website that it has “a very meaningful, long-lasting, and committed relationship to the First Nations communities in Ontario and Manitoba.”
Ryan Tabobondung, director of public works for Wasauksing First Nation, where KCL worked in 2010, said the relationship was strained, calling it “adversarial, almost hostile.”
“If I was asked today if I would recommend Kingdom to work on a water treatment plant for any First Nation, my answer would be no,” said Tabobondung.
Tabobondung said issues with KCL arose early in the contract, when the community began receiving numerous requests for changes that would drive up the cost of the project.
“We were hit with a significant amount of extras,” he said, adding he remembers one change request coming in for almost $1-million.
“It seems that there was a lot of emphasis placed on finding inconsistencies in the drawings, or possible errors so that it could be charged back.”
READ MORE: Why some First Nations still don’t have clean drinking water — despite Trudeau’s promise
Documents from July 2011 reviewed by Global News show that officials with the federal government would have been aware that “KCL was behind schedule by a number of months.”
Leslie Michelson, spokesperson for Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) said “in the case of Wasauksing’s water treatment plant project, Kingdom Construction was awarded the construction contract and completed construction in June 2012. ISC officials participated on the project team, and were made aware of issues raised regarding the construction phase of the project.”
KCL says work was performed to the “highest quality standards.”
Journalists from the consortium attempted to reach the chief and band office for Mathias Colomb Cree Nation over several months regarding KCL’s work on their wastewater treatment plant, however no one was made available for comment.
Landry did not respond to all of the specific allegations, explaining that he could not comment on concerns that did not relate to the scope of KCL’s work. He also said his company’s work was always performed to the highest standards, and that any other suggestion was “categorically false.”
“We are proud of the work we have done in First Nations communities using our considerable experience with water and wastewater projects across Canada. Our work is conducted with the utmost care according to what has been prescribed in our contracts, which are based on engineers designs, plans and specifications. We never walk away from our obligations.”
READ MORE: Manitoba’s First Nations children face barriers in nearly every socioeconomic factor
Landry added that the company provides a one-year warranty on all construction work and “always [addresses] any lingering issues in accordance with our contractual obligations.”
“Inherently, all construction projects have deficiencies and those are addressed in the scope of our work and certified by the engineer when they are satisfied with the final work. Final project payment certificates, signed by the project engineer, confirm the terms of the contract have been met. In any project, there can be unforeseen expenses and potential delays, but these additional costs are always approved by the design (engineers) based on the facts on the ground. Payments are rewarded accordingly, and only when work is completed.”
The consortium asked if Indigenous Services Canada knew of concerns in other communities prior to KCL’s bid for work in Neskantaga. Michelson, a spokesperson for ISC, said officials were made aware of issues raised during the construction phase in Wasauksing, but did not comment on whether the department was aware of broader concerns.
“ISC provides funding to First Nations to undertake infrastructure projects that they propose,” Michelson said. “First Nations hire professional project managers to manage the project on their behalf and consultants to complete the design components and administer the construction contract. First Nations are responsible for tendering the construction portion of the project, with assistance from their project manager and consultant, in accordance with all applicable laws, policies and regulations.”
—With additional reporting from Melissa Ridgen, Brittany Hobson (APTN), Laurence Brisson Dubreuil (IIJ, Concordia University), Emma Wilkie (IIJ, University of King’s College), Krista Hessey, Daina Goldfinger and Katherine Ward, Global News.
Below is the full response from Gerald Landry, the president of Kingdom Construction, to questions from our investigation:
Further to my (response) yesterday where I outlined some of the inherent complexity of lump-sum hard bid projects, I wanted to provide you with answers to your questions regarding the work we have done with First Nations communities over the past decade.
Hopefully I address your questions in my response and provide you with more context about how we have performed difficult work in remote communities, in collaboration with First Nations, Engineers, other trades, suppliers and government funders.
I’d like to start by saying that our construction work is always performed to the very highest quality standards. We pride ourselves in doing excellent work and public documentation and project payment certificates can attest to this. Any suggestion otherwise is categorically false.
We are proud of the work we have done in First Nations communities using our considerable experience with water and wastewater projects across Canada. Our work is conducted with the utmost care according to what has been prescribed in our contracts, which are based on Engineers designs, plans and specifications. We never walk away from our obligations. We perform the work as outlined in our contract and as such, cannot comment on concerns being raised when they are not part of our scope of work.
We provide a one-year warranty on our construction work and always address any lingering issues in accordance with our contractual obligations. Inherently, all construction projects have deficiencies and those are addressed in the scope of our work and certified by the engineer when they are satisfied with the final work. Final project payment certificates, signed by the project engineer, confirm the terms of the contract have been met. In any project, there can be unforeseen expenses and potential delays, but these additional costs are always approved by the design Engineers based on the facts on the ground. Payments are rewarded accordingly, and only when work is completed.
Even when we had successfully completed our share of the work on these projects we understand the disappointment that is felt when there is dissatisfaction with the outcome or the project as a whole is not ultimately completed.
We have the utmost respect for the members of the communities in which we have worked and pride ourselves on the efforts we have made to Foster good working relationships. We are not aware of any evidence of racism by Kingdom or its employees – we take any allegation of racism very seriously and have very strict policies and procedures in place to deal with any potential issue.
I acknowledge the use of the term Native is culturally insensitive and outdated and I wish to sincerely apologize for using it in a recent media interview.
We understand many people are still without clean drinking water in our country and this is completely unacceptable. Why we did our very best to help fix this problem where we could, the solutions to this problem are complex and dependant on many different factors and parties.
I sincerely hope the above is helpful in understanding the original contractors point of view.
Gerald Landry
PRESIDENT
KINGDOM CONSTRUCTION LIMITED


nationalobserver--2020-12-21--Former B.C. legislature clerk faces charges of fraud, breach of trust

The former clerk of the British Columbia legislature has been charged with four counts of breach of trust and two counts of fraud in excess of $ 5,000 .
The BC Prosecution Service says in a statement on Friday that two special prosecutors approved the charges against Craig James following an `` extensive RCMP investigation into the activities of senior staff at the British Columbia legislature . ''
James and sergeant-at-arms Gary Lenz were suspended from their jobs two years ago and retired in 2019 .
Lenz and James have denied any wrongdoing since they were placed on administrative leave @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The prosecution service says James was scheduled to make his first appearance on the charges in a Victoria court on Friday .
• How one young scientist is protecting fragile ecosystems in Canada 's North • First Nations speak out about work with contractor linked to Neskantaga water crisis None of the allegations against James have been tested in court .
James could not immediately be reached for comment .
The statement from the prosecution service makes no mention of Lenz .
The RCMP said in November 2018 that it was investigating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ did not say who was the subject of the probe .
`` The special prosecutors were given a mandate to provide legal advice to the RCMP investigators as may be necessary , conduct any related charge assessment and assume conduct of the prosecution if charges were approved , '' the prosecution service says in its statement announcing the charges .
Their appointment was intended to avoid any potential for real or perceived improper influence in the administration of justice , it says .
Former clerk of the B.C .
legislature faces charges of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bcpoli # CraigJames # BCleg After the two men went on leave , former legislature Speaker Darryl Plecas produced a report in January 2019 outlining allegations of misspending at the legislative assembly .
He alleged that Lenz and James engaged in inappropriate spending on personal items and foreign trips .
His report also alleged inappropriate vacation pay outs and retirement allowances .
James released a 24-page response and said the report by Plecas was going `` out of its way to smear my character . ''
`` It contains opinions and innuendo which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It attributes statements to me which I never made , and conduct in which I never engaged . ''
Lenz said in his 62-page response that the expenses he charged were legitimate and reasonable .
`` The trips that I took were not boondoggles , '' he said in the document .
`` They were for important business of the legislative assembly . ''
Beverley McLachlin , the former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada , was appointed after Plecas 's report was released to look into the allegations against James @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she said James improperly claimed benefits and used legislature property for personal reasons , but Lenz did not engage in misconduct .
Her report also said there was a lack of clarity in authority over expenses and administrate matters that were central to her investigation .
She said James claimed expenses for suits , luggage and a private life insurance premium for himself .
McLachlin also said James engaged in misconduct by directing the creation of benefits for his personal advantage , including retirement and resignation benefits .
James said in a statement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he has been in public service for more than four decades and has fond memories of his time at the legislature , but he 'd `` had enough . ''
`` I have been publicly ridiculed and vilified .
My family has been deeply hurt and continues to suffer humiliation .
In an effort to put an end to that , I have decided to retire , and reach a settlement with the legislative assembly , '' he said .
In the statement , James said he provided detailed written submissions and supporting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ allegations made against him , but many of them were not referred to or addressed in McLachlin 's report .
Lenz initially asked to be reinstated when McLachlin cleared him of misconduct allegations while also acknowledging he was still the subject of a police investigation .
He decided to retire in October 2019 , saying he did so with `` sincere regret . ''
`` I have carried out my duties for the people of British Columbia with the utmost integrity and am proud of the many initiatives that have been put in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' said Lenz in a statement .
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 18 , 2020 .

The former clerk of the British Columbia legislature has been charged with four counts of breach of trust and two counts of fraud in excess of $5,000. The BC Prosecution Service says in a statement on Friday that two special prosecutors approved the charges against Craig James following an "extensive RCMP investigation into the activities of senior staff at the British Columbia legislature." James and sergeant-at-arms Gary Lenz were suspended from their jobs two years ago and retired in 2019. Lenz and James have denied any wrongdoing since they were placed on administrative leave by a unanimous vote of the legislature. The prosecution service says James was scheduled to make his first appearance on the charges in a Victoria court on Friday.
None of the allegations against James have been tested in court. James could not immediately be reached for comment. Billion-dollar land deals in Ontario raise corruption suspicions The statement from the prosecution service makes no mention of Lenz.
The RCMP said in November 2018 that it was investigating staff at the legislature, but it did not say who was the subject of the probe. Former clerk of the B.C. legislature faces charges of fraud, breach of trust. #bcpoli #CraigJames #BCleg "The special prosecutors were given a mandate to provide legal advice to the RCMP investigators as may be necessary, conduct any related charge assessment and assume conduct of the prosecution if charges were approved," the prosecution service says in its statement announcing the charges. Their appointment was intended to avoid any potential for real or perceived improper influence in the administration of justice, it says. After the two men went on leave, former legislature Speaker Darryl Plecas produced a report in January 2019 outlining allegations of misspending at the legislative assembly. He alleged that Lenz and James engaged in inappropriate spending on personal items and foreign trips. His report also alleged inappropriate vacation pay outs and retirement allowances.
James released a 24-page response and said the report by Plecas was going "out of its way to smear my character.'' "It contains opinions and innuendo which are neither accurate, nor fair. It attributes statements to me which I never made, and conduct in which I never engaged.'' Lenz said in his 62-page response that the expenses he charged were legitimate and reasonable.


nationalobserver--2020-12-21--Dr. Theresa Tam gives emotional thanks for speed of COVID-19 vaccine delivery

Canada 's top public health officer has been a model of stoicism through the first year of COVID-19 , but Dr. Theresa Tam still got a little choked up last week when the first Canadians were inoculated with a COVID-19 vaccine .
`` That was pretty emotional , '' said Tam , in an interview reflecting back on the year many would like to forget .
`` I think everyone was touched by those images . ''
It has been just 355 days since Tam saw the first emails warning of a pneumonia cluster in the Chinese city of Wuhan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a week those infections were connected to a novel coronavirus , which causes what we now know as COVID-19 .
In a year-end interview with The Canadian Press , Tam said she is in awe that the world was able to develop , test , produce , ship and now inject a vaccine less than a year later .
• First Nations speak out about work with contractor linked to Neskantaga water crisis • How one young scientist is protecting fragile ecosystems in Canada 's North `` That 's never been seen before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' she said .
`` So I think it is emotional for the perspective of just , just that alone how incredible a scientific achievement that was . ''
Last spring , when vaccine development efforts were well underway , most experts warned it would be a year to 18 months before one was ready , if we were lucky .
Instead , massive investments from governments and the private sector pushed the development , testing and review process forward at lightning speed .
Canada expects to vaccinate more than 200,000 people by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by the end of March , and most Canadians who want the vaccine by the end of September .
Dr. Supriya Sharma , the chief medical adviser at Health Canada , said very early on , Health Canada began talking to regulators in other countries about the standards they should all use , including if any steps could be skipped to make things go faster .
`` The answer to that was no , '' said Sharma .
The international regulators worked `` really , really early '' to harmonize standards and let @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vaccine .
Health Canada adjusted the rules to allow its first reviews to happen while the final trials were ongoing , instead of after .
Review teams were enlarged , they worked seven days a week and the companies kept their experts on constant standby to answer questions Emotional Dr. Theresa Tam very thankful for speed of # COVID19 # vaccine delivery .
That all paved the way for Health Canada to complete its review of Pfizer-BioNTech 's vaccine candidate just five days after receiving the final documents from the company .
Moderna @ @ @ @ @ @ @ documents Friday , is expected to follow a similar timeline .
Together those two vaccines alone should bring enough doses to Canada to vaccinate 30 million people next year .
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told The Canadian Press last week that Canada moved early to identify and pre-purchase multiple promising vaccines because it had learned its lesson when it did n't have enough personal protective equipment for front-line workers when the pandemic began .
`` One of the things we told ourselves in April and May was we did n't want to ever @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this fight with the global community over what we needed , '' Trudeau said .
Canada was able to adapt domestic factories to start churning out ventilators , face masks and hand sanitizer pretty quickly .
Ramping up vaccine development and manufacturing capacity is going to take a lot longer .
It is one of the gaping holes in Canada 's preparedness laid bare by COVID-19 , and has put some other countries on track to vaccinate their entire populations a little bit faster .
The United States , which invested at least @ @ @ @ @ @ @ procure vaccines through its Operation Warp Speed program , has multiple companies making vaccines and is likely to get enough doses to vaccinate most of its 328 million people a few months ahead of Canada 's promise to vaccinate its population of 38 million .
Tam calls this `` the pandemic of the century '' and said while there are many lessons to help guide future pandemic planning , every virus is different .
She was alarmed by the email warnings in December , because they sounded a lot like the 2003 outbreak @ @ @ @ @ @ @ SARS .
But unlike SARS , which had a death rate above 10 per cent , COVID-19 proved to be milder in most patients , and infectious before symptoms ever appear , allowing it to spread faster and more widely .
Early advice that people without symptoms did n't need to wear masks proved to be a mistake .
Tam bristles a little when asked about it .
`` Just to , again , try and set the record straight , '' she says , people with symptoms were always told to wear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ evidence the virus was spreading from people without symptoms , the advice started to change .
Canada also made a mistake focusing mostly on travellers who had been in China early on .
Genetic tracing of the virus , said Tam , shows cases that spread in Canada mostly originated in people coming from Europe and the United States .
Still , she says the measures taken for this pandemic , the wide-scale lockdowns and the closure of the U.S.-Canada border to non-essential travel , were not in the playbook .
`` When @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we seen this ? ''
Tam says .
`` When have we restricted the Canada-U.S. border ?
It 's really rather extraordinary times and measures . ''
For Tam the vaccines represent hope , but what keeps her up at night is the fear that not enough people will take them .
She says communicating the vaccines ' success to date , telling the stories of those who have had them , and encouraging people to look for credible information about them , are going to be the big focus as 2021 gets @ @ @ @ @ @ @ feels very optimistic that 2021 will be better .
Trudeau in November summed up the feelings of many when he said living in a pandemic `` sucks . ''
In a year-end interview with The Canadian Press last week , he said if we can just hold on a little longer , keep following public health advice , and trust the science to get the vaccines , better is just a few months away .
`` We 're going to be able to get through this long and difficult winter into a spring @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the summer where things will be much better , because of vaccines , '' he said .
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 20 , 2020 .

Canada's top public health officer has been a model of stoicism through the first year of COVID-19, but Dr. Theresa Tam still got a little choked up last week when the first Canadians were inoculated with a COVID-19 vaccine. "That was pretty emotional," said Tam, in an interview reflecting back on the year many would like to forget. "I think everyone was touched by those images." It has been just 355 days since Tam saw the first emails warning of a pneumonia cluster in the Chinese city of Wuhan that had no known origin. Within a week those infections were connected to a novel coronavirus, which causes what we now know as COVID-19. In a year-end interview with The Canadian Press, Tam said she is in awe that the world was able to develop, test, produce, ship and now inject a vaccine less than a year later.
"That's never been seen before in the history of public health," she said. "So I think it is emotional for the perspective of just, just that alone how incredible a scientific achievement that was." Last spring, when vaccine development efforts were well underway, most experts warned it would be a year to 18 months before one was ready, if we were lucky. Instead, massive investments from governments and the private sector pushed the development, testing and review process forward at lightning speed. Billion-dollar land deals in Ontario raise corruption suspicions Canada expects to vaccinate more than 200,000 people by the end of 2020, three million by the end of March, and most Canadians who want the vaccine by the end of September.
Dr. Supriya Sharma, the chief medical adviser at Health Canada, said very early on, Health Canada began talking to regulators in other countries about the standards they should all use, including if any steps could be skipped to make things go faster. Emotional Dr. Theresa Tam very thankful for speed of #COVID19 #vaccine delivery. "The answer to that was no," said Sharma. The international regulators worked "really, really early" to harmonize standards and let companies know what was expected of a vaccine. Health Canada adjusted the rules to allow its first reviews to happen while the final trials were ongoing, instead of after. Review teams were enlarged, they worked seven days a week and the companies kept their experts on constant standby to answer questions That all paved the way for Health Canada to complete its review of Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine candidate just five days after receiving the final documents from the company. Moderna, which was to submit its final documents Friday, is expected to follow a similar timeline. Together those two vaccines alone should bring enough doses to Canada to vaccinate 30 million people next year. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told The Canadian Press last week that Canada moved early to identify and pre-purchase multiple promising vaccines because it had learned its lesson when it didn't have enough personal protective equipment for front-line workers when the pandemic began.
"One of the things we told ourselves in April and May was we didn't want to ever have to go through that again, this fight with the global community over what we needed," Trudeau said. Canada was able to adapt domestic factories to start churning out ventilators, face masks and hand sanitizer pretty quickly. Ramping up vaccine development and manufacturing capacity is going to take a lot longer. It is one of the gaping holes in Canada's preparedness laid bare by COVID-19, and has put some other countries on track to vaccinate their entire populations a little bit faster. The United States, which invested at least US$18 billion to develop and procure vaccines through its Operation Warp Speed program, has multiple companies making vaccines and is likely to get enough doses to vaccinate most of its 328 million people a few months ahead of Canada's promise to vaccinate its population of 38 million.