News
B.C. First Nations seek action on sturgeon deaths, after court blamed declines on dam
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VANCOUVER — Three British Columbia First Nations want the provincial and federal governments to live up to a nine-month-old court decision that said there is “overwhelming” evidence a dam on the Nechako River is killing endangered sturgeon.
They are highlighting the ruling after scientists asked the public in September for help in solving the mysterious deaths of 11 adult sturgeon found in the Nechako River in central B.C.
The Ministry of Land, Water and Resource Stewardship said the fish showed no visible external injuries and their deaths were not caused by disease, chemical exposure, angling or gillnet fisheries.
However, the Nechako First Nations claim mismanagement of the river and the dam reservoir are behind the deaths, saying quick action is needed to protect their rights and the sturgeon, which the court said were in “a decline so severe that the species is currently at risk of imminent extirpation.”
In the 1950s, the B.C. government authorized the Aluminum Company of Canada, now Rio Tinto Alcan, to build the Kenney Dam and a 233-kilometre-long reservoir on the river for hydropower generation to smelt its product.
Two of the Nechako First Nations, the Saik’uz and Stellat’en, sued the governments and Rio Tinto Alcan for the decades of losses to their fisheries, the lands, waters and rights.
The B.C. Supreme Court ruled in January that while Rio Tinto Alcan has complied with every contract it signed and abided by all terms on its water licence, the “failure” came from the governments who settled on insufficient requirements to protect the fish of the Nechako.
The judge ruled the Saik’uz and Stellat’en nations have an Aboriginal right to fish for food, social and ceremonial purposes in the Nechako River watershed and that both the provincial and federal governments have an obligation to protect that right.
Justice Nigel Kent said it was a fact that the Kenney Dam’s installation and operation were behind the “recruitment failure” of the Nechako white sturgeon, referring to the survival of fish larvae into the juvenile stage.
Sturgeon, with their long snout and shark-like tail, can grow up to six metres long and live for over a century. The Nechako white sturgeon are a distinct population.
Priscilla Mueller, elected chief of Saik’uz First Nation, said the community living along the river has watched water flow decline over the last several years.
“Right now, the Nechako River received less than 30 per cent of the water that it would naturally receive. So, when you look at the river today, the water level is very low. It would be very difficult for the sturgeons to survive in very low water,” she said.
“It’s not only affecting the sturgeons, but it’s also affecting our salmon and other fish habitats.”
Mueller recalled fishing with her grandparents as a child and said the salmon and sturgeon thrived on the river.
“And now like in Saik’uz, I haven’t heard of anybody getting a sturgeon for years since I was a child .… The (Kenney) Dam really affected the river in a big way,” said Mueller.
The Saik’uz, Stellat’en and Nadleh Whut’en First Nations said in a news release that the recent deaths are the “latest blow” to the endangered species, which numbers between 300 and 600.
“Given the population’s conservation status, these mortalities have very serious implications for the Nechako white sturgeon’s ability to recover, and will drive the population closer to extinction,” they said.
The nations have since filed an appeal of the January ruling, seeking a court order for the restoration of flows on the Nechako that would re-establish “the natural functions of the river.”
Mueller said it’s not just in the First Nations’ interests to restore the river — the health of the river would benefit the whole community on the waterway.
The nations said they now look forward to discussions with all parties to create a new water management regime.
Mueller said one of the first steps is to invite Rio Tinto to their community to see who they are and how they live.
“So, for our community, building relationships is very important. And when you think about a relationship, it’s not just one-sided. If we were gonna co-manage the river, that means all parties need to be involved,” said Mueller.
The Ministry of Land, Water and Resource Stewardship said no more dead sturgeon have recently been observed on the Nechako River, which it saw as a “positive update.”
“We are cautiously optimistic that this mortality event is over. The province is focusing on understanding the cause and what can be done to prevent potential future events,” the ministry said in an email statement.
No cause of death was immediately apparent, but analyses and lab tests would continue, with water temperature and oxygen stress studies also underway through a partnership with the University of British Columbia, said the ministry.
“The province understands there is interest from First Nations and stakeholders in a water release facility at the Kenney Dam in the Nechako watershed,” the ministry said, adding that it was discussing sturgeon stewardship “to ensure it meets the interests of Nechako First Nations.”
Fisheries and Oceans Canada said in a written statement it had been engaged with Indigenous groups, Rio Tinto, B.C. and others in Nechako River white sturgeon recovery initiatives since 2000. A key objective was to ensure Rio Tinto operations “do not impact Nechako white sturgeon and facilitate their recovery.”
Andrew Czornohalan, director of power and projects at Rio Tinto BC Works, said in an email statement that the company is “deeply saddened” by the sturgeons’ deaths and it is working with partners, including the Nechako white sturgeon recovery initiative and the province.
“We are aware of the sturgeon mortality that occurred this summer in the Nechako River and in other rivers in B.C., including the Fraser River. We have offered technical capacity via the water engagement initiative to identify the possible causes of this unprecedented event.”
He said the company has contributed over $13 million to the recovery initiative since 2000.
Over the past two years, Rio Tinto has been working with the First Nations and local communities to improve the water flow into the Nechako River while still monitoring for flood risks in Vanderhoof, a city in northern B.C., said Czornohalan.
“We will continue to collaborate with First Nations, governments and other stakeholders to review all aspects of the Nechako Reservoir management process in hopes of improving the health of the river and ensuring Rio Tinto can remain a driver of economic opportunities in B.C.,” said Czornohalan.
He said on top of powering its smelting plant, the dam provides hydropower for around 350,000 residents in B.C.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 13, 2022.
This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.
Nono Shen, The Canadian Press
More money will land in the pockets of Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit (CCB) installment.
The federal government program helps low and middle-income families struggling with the soaring cost of raising a child.
Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or refugees who are the primary caregivers for children under 18 years old are eligible for the program, introduced in 2016.
The non-taxable monthly payments are based on a family’s net income and how many children they have. Families that have an adjusted net income under $34,863 will receive the maximum amount per child.
For a child under six years old, an applicant can annually receive up to $7,437 per child, and up to $6,275 per child for kids between the ages of six through 17.
That translates to up to $619.75 per month for the younger cohort and $522.91 per month for the older group.
The benefit is recalculated every July and most recently increased 6.3 per cent in order to adjust to the rate of inflation, and cost of living.
To apply, an applicant can submit through a child’s birth registration, complete an online form or mail in an application to a tax centre.
The next payment date will take place on May 17.
News
Capital gains tax change draws ire from some Canadian entrepreneurs worried it will worsen brain drain – CBC.ca
A chorus of Canadian entrepreneurs and investors is blasting the federal government’s budget for expanding a tax on the rich. They say it will lead to brain drain and further degrade Canada’s already poor productivity.
In the 2024 budget unveiled Tuesday, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said the government would increase the inclusion rate of the capital gains tax from 50 per cent to 67 per cent for businesses and trusts, generating an estimated $19 billion in new revenue.
Capital gains are the profits that individuals or businesses make from selling an asset — like a stock or a second home. Individuals are subject to the new changes on any profits over $250,000.
The government estimates that the changes would impact 40,000 individuals (or 0.13 per cent of Canadians in any given year) and 307,000 companies in Canada.
However, some members of the business community say that expanding the taxable amount will devastate productivity, investment and entrepreneurship in Canada, and might even compel some of the country’s talent and startups to take their business elsewhere.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland unveiled the government’s 2024 federal budget, with spending targeted at young voters and a plan to raise capital gains taxes for some of the wealthiest Canadians.
Benjamin Bergen, president of the Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI), said the capital gains tax has overshadowed parts of the federal budget that the business community would otherwise be excited about.
“There were definitely some other stars in the budget that were interesting,” he said. “However, the … capital gains piece really is the sun, and it’s daylight. So this is really the only thing that innovators can see.”
The CCI has written and is circulating an open letter signed by more than 1,000 people in the Canadian business community to Trudeau’s government asking it to scrap the tax change.
Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke and president Harley Finkelstein also weighed in on the proposed hike on X, formerly known as Twitter.
We need to be doing everything we can to turn Canada into the best place for entrepreneurs to build 🇨🇦<br><br>What’s proposed in the federal budget will do the complete opposite. Innovators and entrepreneurs will suffer and their success will be penalized — this is not a wealth tax,…
—@harleyf
Former finance minister Bill Morneau said his successor’s budget disincentivizes businesses from investing in the country’s innovation sector: “It’s probably very troubling for many investors.”
Canada’s productivity — a measure that compares economic output to hours worked — has been relatively poor for decades. It underperforms against the OECD average and against several other G7 countries, including the U.S., Germany, U.K. and Japan, on the measure.
Bank of Canada senior deputy governor Carolyn Rogers sounded the alarm on Canada’s lagging productivity in a speech last month, saying the country’s need to increase the rate had reached emergency levels, following one of the weakest years for the economy in recent memory.
The government said it was proposing the tax change to make life more affordable for younger generations and fund efforts to boost housing supply — and that it would support productivity growth.
A challenge for investors, founders and workers
The change could have a chilling effect for several reasons, with companies already struggling to access funding in a high interest rate environment, said Bergen.
He questioned whether investors will want to fund Canadian companies if the government’s taxation policies make it difficult for those firms to grow — and whether founders might just pack up.
The expanded inclusion rate “is just one of the other potential concerns that firms are going to have as they’re looking to grow their companies.”
He said the rejigged tax is also an affront to high-skilled workers from low-innovation sectors who might have taken the risk of joining a startup for the opportunity, even taking a lower wage on the chance that a firm’s stock options grow in value.
But Lindsay Tedds, an associate economics professor at the University of Calgary, said the tax change is one of the most misunderstood parts of the federal budget — and that its impact on the country’s talent has been overstated.
“This is not a major innovation-biting tax change treatment,” Tedds said. “In fact, when you talk to real grassroots entrepreneurs that are setting up businesses, tax rates do not come into their decision.”
As for productivity, Tedds said Canadians might see improvements in the long run “to the degree that some of our productivity problems are driven by stresses like housing affordability, access to child care, things like that.”
‘One foot on the gas, one foot on the brake’
Some say the government is sending mixed messages to entrepreneurs by touting tailored tax breaks — like the Canada Entrepreneurs’ Incentive, which reduces the capital gains inclusion rate to 33 per cent on a lifetime maximum of $2 million — while introducing measures they say would dampen investment and innovation.
“They seem to have one foot on the gas, one foot on the brake on the very same file,” said Dan Kelly, president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
Some business groups are worried that new capital gains tax changes could hurt economic growth. But according to Small Business Minister Rechie Valdez, most Canadians won’t be impacted by that change — and it’s a move to create fairness.
A founder may be able to sell their successful company with a lower capital gains treatment than otherwise possible, he said.
“At the same time, though, big chunks of it may be subject to a higher rate of capital gains inclusion.”
Selling a company can fund an individual’s retirement, he said, which is why it’s one of the first things founders consider when they think about capital gains.
Mainstreet NS7:03Ottawa is proposing a hike to capital gains tax. What does that mean?
Tuesday’s federal budget includes nearly $53 billion in new spending over the next five years with a clear focus on affordability and housing. To help pay for some of that new spending, Ottawa is proposing a hike to the capital gains tax. Moshe Lander, an economics lecturer at Concordia University, joins host Jeff Douglas to explain.
Dennis Darby, president and CEO of Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, says he was disappointed by the change — and that it sends the wrong message to Canadian industries like his own.
He wants to see the government commit to more tax credit proposals like the Canada Carbon Rebate for Small Businesses, which he said would incentivize business owners to stay and help make Canada competitive with the U.S.
“We’ve had a lot of difficulties attracting investment over the years. I don’t think this will make it any better.”
Tech titan says change will only impact richest of the rich
Toronto tech entrepreneur Ali Asaria will be one of those subject to the expanded capital gains inclusion rate — but he says it’s only fair.
“It’s going to really affect the richest of the rich people,” Asaria, CEO of open source platform Transformer Lab and founder of well.ca, told CBC News.
“The capital gains exemption is probably the largest tax break that I’ve ever received in my life,” he said. “So I know a lot about what that benefit can look like, but I’ve also always felt like it was probably one of the most unfair parts of the tax code today.”
While Asaria said Canada needs to continue encouraging talent to take risks and build companies in the country, taxation policies aren’t the most major problem.
“I think that the biggest central issue to the reason why people will leave Canada is bigger issues, like housing,” he said.
“How do we make it easier to live in Canada so that we can all invest in ourselves and invest in our companies? That’s a more important question than, ‘How do we help the top 0.13 per cent of Canadians make more money?'”
More money will land in the pockets of Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit (CCB) installment.
The federal government program helps low and middle-income families struggling with the soaring cost of raising a child.
Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or refugees who are the primary caregivers for children under 18 years old are eligible for the program, introduced in 2016.
The non-taxable monthly payments are based on a family’s net income and how many children they have. Families that have an adjusted net income under $34,863 will receive the maximum amount per child.
For a child under six years old, an applicant can annually receive up to $7,437 per child, and up to $6,275 per child for kids between the ages of six through 17.
That translates to up to $619.75 per month for the younger cohort and $522.91 per month for the older group.
The benefit is recalculated every July and most recently increased 6.3 per cent in order to adjust to the rate of inflation, and cost of living.
To apply, an applicant can submit through a child’s birth registration, complete an online form or mail in an application to a tax centre.
The next payment date will take place on May 17.
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