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Fusion breakthrough a ‘marvel’ of global scientific collaboration, including Canada

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Fusion breakthrough a 'marvel' of global scientific collaboration, including Canada

The fusion ignition breakthrough that has experts hailing a new dawn in the search for clean energy took a lot of help from around the world — including Canada.

Researchers at the University of Alberta have been working for years on theoretical models to interpret the results of precisely the sort of laser-plasma interaction experiments at the core of the discovery.

“We contribute — myself, my group, my students — to modelling to understand the physics of this process,” said Wojciech Rozmus, an expert in theoretical plasma physics at the U of A in Edmonton.

“We are part of the very close working groups in working with some aspects of this experiment.”

Rozmus, 71, has been studying plasma physics for four decades. He’s twice been a visiting professor at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California where the breakthrough was made — once in 1997-98 and again in 2011-12.

It was there that for the first time, scientists successfully produced a fusion reaction that generated more energy than it took to trigger, an initial step toward corralling the process that energizes the sun and other stars.

“Simply put, this is one of the most impressive scientific feats of the 21st century,” U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said Tuesday.

“This milestone moves us one significant step closer to the possibility of zero-carbon, abundant fusion energy powering our society.”

Critics cited the shortcomings of the Livermore laboratory’s National Ignition Facility, including the modelling challenges, in expressing their doubts the milestone would ever be reached, said lab director Kim Budil.

“Many said it was not possible — the laser wasn’t energetic enough, the targets would never be precise enough, our modelling and simulation tools were just not up to the task of this complex physics,” Budil said.

“The science and technology challenges on the path to fusion energy are daunting. But making the seemingly impossible possible is when we’re at our very best.”

Fusion, in a nutshell, produces energy and heat by forcing together hydrogen atoms without the radioactive byproducts of nuclear reactions.

The experiment, which Rozmus said first showed exceptional promise back in August 2021, involved firing a barrage of lasers at a cylinder that contained a BB-sized fuel pellet of hydrogen, deuterium and tritium.

The pellet, bombarded by X-rays, vaporized as its nuclei fused in a brief burst of energy — 50 per cent more than had been used to produce it.

Budil said as a result, the prospect of using fusion ignition to produce power on a commercial level is significantly closer than it was before.

“Not six decades, I don’t think, and not five decades, which is what we used to say,” she said.

“I think it’s moving into the foreground, and with concerted effort and investment, a few decades of research on the underlying technologies could put us in a position to build a power plant.”

To avoid being seen as playing favourites, the Lawrence Livermore lab refused Wednesday to speak about specific academic partners. But from the outset, the success was framed by officials as a global team effort.

It was the product of the dedicated work of “countless collaborators” from laboratories, academic institutions and energy agencies from across the U.S. and around the world, said spokesperson Breanna Bishop.

Rozmus said the collaboration had been intensifying in recent years, and may have even received a boost from the COVID-19 pandemic, which fostered the growth of using technology for long-distance teamwork.

“I would say even the pandemic helped us,” he said. “The way we work now, online via Zoom, that exchange of information became a standard form of communicating and it has stayed like that.”

Granholm made the point that the success was a product of U.S. investments in national laboratory facilities and fundamental research. “Tomorrow, we’ll continue to work toward a future that is powered in part by fusion energy,” she said.

It would be nice if the success resulted in Canada making a more concerted effort of its own towards advancing fusion research, Rozmus said.

“Fusion has had a hard time gaining support, partly because it was a prospect which was always 50 years away,” he said. “But now that it’s getting a demonstration of control, the conversation changes dramatically.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 14, 2022.

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Canada’s Denis Shapovalov wins Belgrade Open for his second ATP Tour title

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BELGRADE, Serbia – Canada’s Denis Shapovalov is back in the winner’s circle.

The 25-year-old Shapovalov beat Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic 6-4, 6-4 in the Belgrade Open final on Saturday.

It’s Shapovalov’s second ATP Tour title after winning the Stockholm Open in 2019. He is the first Canadian to win an ATP Tour-level title this season.

His last appearance in a tournament final was in Vienna in 2022.

Shapovalov missed the second half of last season due to injury and spent most of this year regaining his best level of play.

He came through qualifying in Belgrade and dropped just one set on his way to winning the trophy.

Shapovalov’s best results this season were at ATP 500 events in Washington and Basel, where he reached the quarterfinals.

Medjedovic was playing in his first-ever ATP Tour final.

The 21-year-old, who won the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF title last year, ends 2024 holding a 9-8 tour-level record on the season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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Talks to resume in B.C. port dispute in bid to end multi-day lockout

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VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.

The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.

The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.

The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.

The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.

MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.

In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.

“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.

“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”

In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.

“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.

The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.

“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”

The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.

The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.

A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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The Royal Canadian Legion turns to Amazon for annual poppy campaign boost

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The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.

Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.

Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.

Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.

“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.

“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”

Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.

“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.

Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.

“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”

But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.

Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.

“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.

Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.

The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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