Lok Bhalai Party merges with SAD

Ludhiana, November 23

The Lok Bhalai Party of Balwant Singh Ramoowalia merged with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) at a rally near Detwal village in the district today. Ramoowalia, who had quit the Akali Dal on November 27, 1989, called it a homecoming. He was welcomed back into the party fold by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal. Ramoowalia said he had always had great regard for the Badal family.

“I have taken this decision after a lot of thought and discussions with my party workers. I am not a greenhorn in politics and neither are the Badals,” Ramoowalia said.

Sukhbir said that all LBP workers would be “duly adjusted” in the party setup.

The Chief Minister said the merger would not only help in defeating the “anti-Punjab and anti-development” Congress, but also ensure that Punjab had a sustained growth.

He said Ramoowalia would play a big role in the party. Later at a press conference, when asked whether

Ramoowalia or any of his supporters would be candidates for the coming elections, Badal said it was premature to make any statement. “We will decide on such matters in days to come but Ramoowalia will certainly hold a key position in the party,” he added.

ON THE SIDELINESl BS Ramoowalia got emotional several times while addressing the gathering, swearing on his family that he would continue to work for the rights of Punjabis settled abroad l Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal provoked laughter when he told the audience that popular singer Harbhajan Mann ( son-in-law of Ramoowalia’s elder brother) would come free with the Lok Bhalai Party chief (ek naal ek muft) l Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said Ramoowalia’s ‘jawai’ (son-in-law) was now his ‘jawai’ and that the Punjabis knew that they had to take care of their ‘jawais’ l Badal left the audience guessing when he said nowadays no child listens to his father. He said ‘pehla putt jammde si, par hun peo jammde ne’

Angelina Jolie Says She’s Lucky She ‘Didn’t Die Young’

Sometimes it's hard to remember that before Angelina Jolie became a mother of six and one of Hollywood's highest-profile humanitarians, she was a troubled upstart living her life on the edge.

But Jolie herself hasn't forgotten, and she's telling "60 Minutes" that she's fortunate to have made it out of her adolescence alive.

"I went through heavy, darker times and I survived them," the 36-year-old Academy Award-winner said in an interview that airs this Sunday. "I didn't die young, so I'm very lucky. There are other artists and people who didn't survive certain things."

When pressed on the subject, Jolie held back but said something sure to let curious imaginations run wild.

"[There's] nothing I want to go into a lot of detail about, but people can imagine I did the most dangerous and the worst. For many reasons, I shouldn't be here. You just think [of] those times when you came too close to too many dangerous things, too many chances taken, [going] too far."

Before she settled down with Brad Pitt in 2005, Jolie had a reputation for dark behavior that her eccentric personality hardly refuted. The daughter of "Midnight Cowboy" actor Jon Voight, Jolie survived a troubled adolescence, to say the least: Before becoming a star in her own right, she often cut herself and admitted to experimenting with "just about every drug possible," including heroin.

Having cleaned up a bit as she entered her twenties, Jolie still continued to raise eyebrows, whether it was wearing a vial of blood from her then-husband Billy Bob Thornton around her neck, kissing her brother on the lips in public, or talking about her briefly considered dream job of being a mortician.

Even now, as the mother of six, Jolie says she hasn't completely abandoned her darker urges. "I'm still a bad girl, I still have that side of me… it's just in its place now," she said. "It belongs to Brad."

Follow procedure while acquiring individuals’ properties, SC to states

New Delhi, November 24
Slapping a cost of Rs 2.5 lakh on Haryana for illegally acquiring a farmer’s land in Sonepat, and quashing the acquisition as null and void, the Supreme Court has issued a fiat to all the states to desist from taking over the properties of individuals, particularly farmers, except in cases where it is “absolutely necessary.”
The SC pointed out that in the recent past various state governments had resorted to “massive acquisition of land and that too without complying” with the mandatory legal procedures in the name of public purpose only to “confer benefit upon private parties.”
Such reckless acquisitions depriving ordinary people of their agriculture land, houses built with life-time savings or small industrial units set up with great difficulty were “wholly unjust, arbitrary and unreasonable,” a Bench comprising Justices GS Singhvi and SJ Mukhopadhaya ruled.

In the present case, the Bench noted that the affected farmer, Raghbir Singh Sehrawat, was shown as dead on the relevant documents, while his wife’s signature had been forged and she was described as a widow. Further, it was wrongly contended that the state had taken physical possession of the land and handed it over to the Haryana State Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation(HSIIDC) on November 28, 2008, while village records showed that Sehrawat was still cultivating the land and there was a standing crop at the relevant time.

“Before acquiring private land, the state and/or its agencies/instrumentalities should, as far as possible, use land belonging to the state for the specified public purpose. If the acquisition of private land becomes absolutely necessary, then too, the concerned authorities must strictly comply with the relevant statutory provisions and the rules of natural justice,” the Bench noted in the 25-page verdict, written by Justice Singhvi.

The Bench noted that several state governments and their functionaries were adopting a “very casual approach” in dealing with matters relating to the acquisition of land in general and “the rural areas in particular and in a large number of cases” the acquisitions had been quashed by the judiciary for not following the mandatory procedure.

“It is difficult, if not impossible, to appreciate as to why the state and its instrumentalities resort to massive acquisition of land and that too without complying with the mandate of the statute,” the SC said.

While diversion of farm land in the name of planned development or industrial growth would seriously affect the availability of food in future, depriving people of their only assets like a small house or a small industrial unit would amount to denying them of a “semblance of dignity” they have been struggling for, the apex court observed.

The owners, whose land was being acquired, should be given a chance to raise all sorts of objections, either by pointing out that the land was not suitable for the proposed purpose or by suggesting that an alternative piece of land was available or through other means.

“In other words, the recommendations made by the Collector must reflect objective application of mind to the objections filed by the landowners and other interested persons,” the Bench clarified.

The apex court also noted that since independence, the administrative apparatus of the State had neither invested enough in the rural areas nor educated and empowered the farmers to adopt alternative sources of livelihood.

“It also appears that the concerned authorities are totally unmindful of the plight of those sections of the society, who are deprived of their only asset like small house, small industrial unit etc. They do not realise that having one’s own house is lifetime dream of majority of population of this country,” they observed.

Cabinet clears 51% FDI in multi-brand and 100% in single-brand retail

Paves way for global chains to open mega stores in 53 major cities

New Delhi, November 24
The Union Cabinet today cleared 51% foreign investment in multi-brand retail and 100% in single-brand retail, throwing open the country’s estimated $590 billion (Rs 29.5 lakh crore) retail market to global supermarket giants, despite differences between the UPA allies on the issue.
It also approved the Companies Bill, 2011 that seeks to tighten norms on insider trading, prevent corporate frauds and introduce new concepts like class action suits. Once approved by Parliament, it would replace a 55-year-old old legislation.
The decision on FDI, taken at a meeting of the Cabinet presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, will pave the way for global chains like WalMart, Carrefour and Tesco to open mega stores in 53 major cities. Currently, India allows 51% FDI in single-brand retail and 100% FDI in the cash-and-carry format of the business.
Besides the main Opposition BJP, the Left and UPA partner Trinamool Congress along with Congress ministers Veerappa Moily and Mukul Wasnik had opposed the FDI proposal saying it could create major problems for the country.
"We will make a statement in Parliament," is all Commerce Minister Anand Sharma said after the meeting, given the sensitivities involved. But some ministers and officials confirmed the clearance to FDI.
While the BJP feels that the FDI in retail would lead to unemployment, the Left parties feel it would lead to further inflation and price rise. However, the government is of the view that this biggest reform in years could boost sorely-needed investment in Asia's third-largest economy.
Sources said there are also some caveats proposed in the policy, notably to protect the interests of mom-and-pop shops, farmers and small and medium enterprises. There are some 40 million people involved directly in running these neighbourhood kirana stores.
Earlier, a panel headed by Cabinet Secretary Ajit Kumar Seth had recommended 51% FDI in multi-brand retail but with certain riders.

The panel had suggested that at least 50% of the investment and jobs should go torural areas. Besides, entities with FDI should source at least 30% of their requirements from the micro, small and medium enterprises sector. A foreign player would also have to commit an investment of at least $100 million.

Other recommendations included allowing such mega stores to sell non-branded items. Such entities would be allowed only in towns with a population of over 10 lakh.

In another decision, the Union Cabinet also cleared the Companies Bill, 2011 which, once approved by Parliament, will replace a half-a-century-old Act. The Bill, which has already been vetted by the Parliamentary Standing Committee of Finance and also by different ministries, seeks to update company law in line with the best global practices.

The Bill has introduced ideas like corporate social responsibility (CSR), class action suits and a fixed term for independent directors.

Among other things, it also proposes to tighten laws for raising money from the public. The Bill also seeks to prohibit any insider trading by company directors or key managerial personnel by treating such activities as a criminal offence.

Sukh Ram attacker now slaps Pawar

New Delhi, November 24

Even as political parties condemned in one voice the incident in which the Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar was slapped this afternoon by Harvinder Singh, a transporter in his thirties, at the New Delhi Municipal Corporation’s (NDMC) Convention Centre here, Anna Hazare raised eyebrows with his first reaction in which he said, “Only one slap?”

Harvinder had attacked former Telecom Minister Sukh Ram in the court compound four days ago.

Hazare soon realised his gaffe and sought to recover lost ground by describing it as a slap on democracy.

But as the news spread and TV channels telecast the ‘slap’, NCP workers in Maharashtra hit the streets to protest and tried to enforce bandhs in many parts of the state. Road blocks were put up and blockades came up on railway tracks.

Both Pawar and daughter Supriya Sule, MP, appealed to their supporters to maintain peace and to refrain from reacting. “Let us forget and move ahead,” said Sule while Pawar, the seasoned politician, refused to call it a breach of security because he had no security, he pointed out.

However, the incident occurred in the presence of his personal security officer and officials from Group Four Private Security Organisation.

Harvinder broke into a group of officials and journalists before landing a tight slap on Pawar. He was shouting slogans against corruption and price rise.

As he was overpowered, the assailant tried to commit suicide by slitting his wrist with a “kirpan” hidden in his pocket.

Harvinder was arrested on charges of deterring a public servant from discharge of his duty, attempt to commit suicide, punishment for voluntarily causing hurt and punishment for criminal intimidation. The police said that he would be presented before the Patiala House Court tomorrow.

A police official said, “Harvinder is probably mentally disturbed. He is undergoing treatment for bipolar disorder at a private clinic run at Patel Nagar.”

Meanwhile, the Congress blamed BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, who had warned of rising public anger and possibility of violence, of inciting the people.

BJP and its allies condemned the act and advised the government to be sensitive to inflation.

Parliament condemns assault on Pawar
NEW DELHI: Parliament today strongly condemned the assault on Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar at a public function here yesterday.
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar said the House strongly condemned the unfortunate incident of assault on the Agriculture Minister.
The House "expresses its unequivocal disapproval of taking recourse to violent and undemocratic means to express disagreement," she said.
Before the Lok Sabha met for the day, several members went across to Pawar, who was seated in his alloted seat in the first row, as a gesture.
Rajya Sabha too condemned the assault on Pawar.
When the House met for the day, Chairman Hamid Ansari made a mention of the incident that took place yesterday barely a few kilometers away from Parliament.
"I am sure the whole House will join me in condemning the assault" on Pawar, he said as members thumped their desks in show of support.

Wintry wallop sets record, suspends mail and closes schools in St. John's, N.L.

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - It was a savage day, as some Newfoundlanders would say, with record snowfalls that delayed mail, cancelled classes and even took public transit buses off the road.

The southeastern Avalon Peninsula was hit with almost 30 centimetres of snow measured by early Thursday afternoon at theSt. John's International Airport.

In a city used to punishing weather, it was a wild one that broke the previous November snowfall record of just over 25 centimetres on Nov. 19, 1980.

"This one was pretty severe because it shut down the biggest city in the province," said Environment Canada meteorologist Herb Thoms.

"That doesn't happen often — especially when they're taking the transit buses off the road. That's pretty significant."

Classes at Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John's were cancelled, schools and small businesses shut down, some banks were dark, and the winding, steep streets of the historic downtown were quiet and slushy for much of the day.

Public transit buses were temporarily parked until after lunch when service resumed.

"It has definitely had an impact on the city," said Const. Jennifer Clarke of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary.

"Most people, unless they have a reason to leave their homes, they're staying in. But a lot of people are just out and kind of enjoying it as well. A lot of people love this kind of weather, so they're out walking around with their shovels and helping each other."

Clarke said there were reports of minor accidents and she advised residents to stay off the roads if possible.

"For our first snowfall of the year, this is definitely bigger than what we're used to."

Thoms said the wintry wallop was due to a low-pressure system that first moved through New England and Nova Scotia.

There were wind gusts of almost 60 kilometres an hour at the St. John's airport, and 100 km/h at Cape Race, N.L., he said.

Another few centimetres of snow were expected for the region by evening as the temperature hovered around -2 C.

The early blast of winter followed a non-summer through much of southeastern Newfoundland that was colder, foggier and wetter than usual.

The storm wasn't bad for some people. Kelly Jones owns Britannia Teas and Gifts in downtown St. John's, where business was steady on such a blustery day.

"Some people were wishing more stores were open," she said. "The weather changes so much here that, you know, from time to time we're like: 'Oh my God, the weather!' But nothing surprises me."

City workers were out in force salting roads, sidewalks and steep stairways.

"Most of the city has been shut down today, which gives us lots of space to do our work," said Colin Clarke, a municipal outdoor worker.

"We're trying to get it back in order for everyone in the morning."

For other people, it was a chance to take part of the day off.

Emily Trim, who works downtown, left a bit early to hit the stores that were open.

"The other workers didn't make it in so I got to have a chance to get some Christmas shopping done, which was much needed."

Record-breaking snow in NL

Heavy snowfall in Newfoundland – up to 27 centimetres at the St. John's airport by noon – has closed schools and businesses, and is causing hazardous driving conditions Thursday

Canada lobbying European Parliament to weaken climate-change policies: EU politician

OTTAWA — A visiting member of Europe’s Parliament says he is puzzled by Canadian government policies and fears the world may be forced to leave Canada behind as it moves forward in addressing climate change.

“It’s a very strange position for Europe, because really, for us, Canada is a dear partner,” said Kriton Arsenis, from the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, the second-largest group in the European Parliament. “It’s an ally in the way that we share values for the environment, social values, how we imagine the state of the world and we somehow feel left alone.”

Arsenis, 34, who met with some of his Canadian counterparts from opposition parties in a series of meetings Wednesday, said he was actually hoping to get feedback from the government on Europe’s proposed climate policies to improve them. But instead, he received an angry response from Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver who publicly criticized the foreign visit, blaming it on the opposition New Democrats.

Canada appears to be the only country attempting to lobby the European Parliament in order to weaken its climate policies, Arsenis said. But he warned that the Canadian government’s position may isolate it from efforts to expand and extend the Kyoto Protocol which set legally-binding targets on developed countries’ greenhouse gas emissions as a first step toward preventing dangerous changes in the atmosphere.

Despite concerns about economic woes including in his native country of Greece, Arsenis, whose travel expenses were sponsored by Climate Action Network Canada — a coalition of environment, labour and faith-based groups — said that the Europeans he represents still support efforts to reduce pollution as a necessity to protect future generations.

“We are willing to take any measure necessary to move ahead for this,” Arsenis said during a meeting with the Ottawa Citizen’s editorial board. “For example when we talk about Kyoto, we want to move ahead with Kyoto and we might be forced to do that even if Canada is not on board. This is sad. This is very sad for us. We started this together. We think that it (reflects) our common values.”

Countries will continue their international negotiations starting next Monday at a United Nations climate change summit in Durban, South Africa. Canada, Russia and Japan have all said they will not accept new targets when the existing commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2013, leaving the world without any binding requirements for countries to reduce emissions.

But Oliver attempted to blame the NDP for allowing Arsenis to promote European climate policies that would discourage consumption of fuels with above-average environmental footprints such as synthetic crude oil from Western Canada’s natural deposits of bitumen, also known as oilsands.

“Now (New Democrats) are hosting today a session that is giving support for the European Fuel quality directive which will single out the oilsands for bad treatment,” said Oliver. “It’s based on an unscientific and discriminatory approach. Here they are again opposing the creation of Canadian jobs and economic growth for the country.”

Arsenis stressed that Europe’s climate policies, which are still under debate, are attempting to assess the environmental impact of all fuels, and, in fact, do not estimate bitumen to be the most polluting fuel, putting it behind oil shale and coal converted to liquid fuel.

“This is not about Canada,” Arsenis said. “This is about climate change. This is about the environmental impact of . . . our fuels and this is about responding to our citizens’ demands.”

He added that the European policies represent an effort “to do the right thing.”

“Climate change is not a fashion of some sort. It’s a real threat, and whatever we do, we are going to take measures in the future. We can delay it with greater cost if we don’t take measures.”

Arsenis is scheduled to have more meetings and media interviews in Toronto on Thursday before returning home.

More extreme weather coming due to climate change: international scientists

Nations can anticipate more climate extremes, says a new international report

OTTAWA — Record-breaking temperatures, stronger winds and heavy precipitation in the form of rain and snow are becoming more frequent events in the 21st century due to climate change that evidence indicates is being caused by human activity, says a new assessment released Friday by governments from around the world.

Canadian scientists who contributed to the review, a special report on managing the risks of extreme weather events and disasters to advance climate change adaptation, also say Canada is facing more violent weather that could cause greater economic damage at home than in developing countries.

The assessment, agreed to by Canada and all other countries participating in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, has reiterated scientific evidence confirming a warming trend that is increasing the number of warmer days and nights and decreasing the number of colder days and nights.

Many extreme events that can be caused by natural variability every 20 years — such as droughts in some seasons and regions — are also more likely to return more frequently, the assessment concluded.

The report highlighted strong statistical evidence linking an increase in extreme weather events such as heavy precipitation to human consumption of fossil fuels such as gasoline. Greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide can trap heat in the atmosphere and allow it to retain more water vapour.

“There is evidence that some extremes have changed as a result of anthropogenic influences, including increases in atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases,” said the 29-page summary for policy-makers that was approved by governments at a negotiating session in Uganda. “It is likely that anthropogenic (human-caused) influences have led to warming of extreme daily minimum and maximum temperatures on the global scale. There is medium confidence that anthropogenic influences have contributed to intensification of extreme precipitation on the global scale.”

The report also said it was likely that human activity is linked to higher water levels in coastal areas, but recognized uncertainties regarding tropical storm activity and the absence of scientific research to project the “magnitude” of potential events in the future and their links to climate change.

During a media conference call, Canadian scientists noted that a country like Canada could face higher economic losses than a developing country due to the anticipated rise in extreme weather events since it has more infrastructure. But the report also said that fatality rates and the proportional losses in developing countries, based on the size of their economies, could be relatively greater.

The Canadian scientists listed numerous examples of climate-related events in recent years that have cost the country’s economy billions of dollars in losses, such as the 1998 ice storm in Eastern Canada, the spread of the mountain pine beetle in British Columbia’s forests and a 2005 extreme rain event that caused $500 million in damage in the Toronto region.

The report said that “it is virtually certain that increases in the frequency and magnitude of warm daily temperature extremes and decreases in cold extremes will occur in the 21st century on the global scale.”

It also said it was likely — meaning a probability greater than 66 per cent — that heavy precipitation events would also increase over many parts of the planet, particularly in high latitudes and tropical regions, as well as in winter for northern mid-latitudes.

“Based on a range of emissions scenarios . . . a 1-in-20 year annual maximum daily precipitation amount is likely to become a one-in-five to one-in-15 event by the end of the 21st century in many regions, and in most regions the higher emissions scenarios lead to a stronger projected decrease in return period.”

Francis Zwiers, a former Environment Canada scientist who now directs a climate change impacts consortium at the University of Victoria, said the negotiations between countries in Uganda over the final summary document lasted four days, including a line-by-line review of every statement to allow the governments to agree on the best way to communicate about the existing scientific literature.

“I didn’t get very much sleep last night,” Zwiers said. “It’s . . . a negotiation that turns into a very positive result by engaging governments in the process of determining how to communicate this kind of information. The process allows them to take ownership of the report and have confidence in it, therefore it also allows them to produce policy on the basis of the report.”

The IPCC process has been challenged by climate skeptics ever since its first major assessment report in 1990, but Environment Canada scientists say that its range of projections have been consistent with actual observed climate and weather impacts. A recent 2009 controversy over stolen emails from climate scientists also galvanized skeptics with renewed accusations of an international conspiracy involving the evidence, but a series of independent inquiries have all rejected the accusations and cleared the researchers, whose emails were hacked, of any wrongdoing.

At a separate news conference, Green Party leader Elizabeth May criticized the federal government for reducing the number of scientists working at Environment Canada on plans to help the country to adapt to climate change, saying the government’s overall plan is inadequate and puts the economy at risk.

The international community will meet later this month in South Africa for the next round of negotiations on climate change.

Climate change could cost Canada 1% of GDP by 2050: panel

OTTAWA — Climate change will cause damage in Canada equivalent to around 1% of GDP in 2050 as rising temperatures kill off forests, flood low-lying areas and cause more illnesses, an official panel said on Thursday.

The National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy said Canada’s Conservative government — criticized by green activists for not doing enough to fight global warming — should take measures to mitigate the effects of climate change, which most scientists blame on greenhouse gas emissions.

The north of Canada is warming up at a much faster pace than the rest of the Earth.

“Climate change presents a growing, long-term economic burden for Canada,” said the NRTEE, which the government set up in 1988 to provide advice on environmental issues.

According to the most likely scenario outlined by the panel, the damage done by global warming would be between 0.8% and 1% of GDP by 2050 and could hit almost 2.5% by 2075.

“The magnitude of costs depends upon a combination of two factors: global emissions growth and Canadian economic and population growth,” the panel said.

Depending on how fast the world heats up and what actions Ottawa takes, the NRTEE said the damage in 2050 could range from $21-billion to $43-billion a year.

The panel recommended several measures to help limit damage from climate change:

• enhance forest fire prevention, control pests, and plant climate-resilient tree species
• prohibit new construction in areas at risk of flooding in coastal areas
• install pollution control technologies to limit ozone formation.

The NDP said the report showed the Conservatives needed to do much more to fight global warming.

“Our coastal communities, our forestry industry, and the health of Canadians will all suffer unless we take action right now. Yet this out-of-touch government has produced no plan to deal with the impact of climate change,” said Laurin Liu of the official opposition New Democrats.

Environment Minister Peter Kent responded by saying the report showed the importance of adapting to climate change.

Canadians, he told legislators, wanted “a strong, stable, environmentally responsible … government to take care of the environment, and that is exactly what we are doing”.

The NRTEE said Canada would benefit from a global treaty that systematically reduced carbon emissions beyond 2012, when the first stage of the Kyoto Protocol expires.

The NRTEE largely dismissed the idea that global warming could help a northern country like Canada by reducing heating costs and making it easier to grow certain kinds of crops.

Courtesy: Reuters

First Nations protections symbolic but important

People living on First Nations reserves will have the same human rights protection as other Canadians beginning this weekend, when they will come under the umbrella of the Canadian Human Rights Act for the first time. Previously, the act — which prevents discrimination on grounds of race, religion or gender — did not apply to the Indian Act, the archaic legislation that still governs much of life on reserves.

The impact of its extension to cover First Nations is likely to be more symbolic than practical. But it is another step on what Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan calls his government’s “reconciliation agenda,” which also included the residential school apology and the establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which is investigating human rights abuses in the residential schools.

“It has made a difference — many people said it changed everything, so that they could put past grievances behind them and make them more willing to embrace working collaboratively,” he said in an interview in his Parliament Hill office. “I think there has been a positive cultural change in First Nations’ leadership and a cultural change in Ottawa too.”

There does appear to have been a shift from the old hardline approach, when aboriginal leaders made demands they knew could never be met and governments pretended to listen. Mr. Duncan and Shawn Atleo, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, announced a joint action plan last week aimed at making progress on education, governance, economic development and treaty negotiation.

The problem is that progress, like tomorrow, never comes. The Auditor-General’s report about programs on First Nations’ reserves, released last week, concluded that conditions have not improved much in the last decade. “The education gap between First Nations living on reserves and the general Canadian population has widened [and] the shortage of adequate housing on reserves has increased,” the report said.

The most damning statistic in the cycle of failure is the graduation rate of high school students, which is stuck at around 41% for aboriginal students, compared to 77% for Canadians as a whole. In 2004, the Auditor-General estimated it would take 28 years for First Nations communities to reach the national average and close the education gap. Last week, Sheila Fraser suggested more recent trends indicated the time needed will be even longer.

Simple demographics suggest that the status quo is untenable. According to Statistics Canada, the number of senior citizens will more than double in the next 20 years, with dramatic consequences for tax revenues (lower), social costs (much higher) and the labour market (shortages of skilled workers). At the same time, the aboriginal population is growing five times faster than the rest of the Canadian population and has an average age of 22, compared to 36 for the rest of Canada. There is a real prospect of an army of angry, unemployed and under-educated native youths milling around Canadian cities, at the same time as the economy is hit with labour shortages.

Roberta Jamieson, the well respected president of the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation, which provides support to native post-secondary education students, said First Nations children are not leaving school before graduation because they don’t think education is important. “These kids want a future, they don’t want to be sitting on welfare.”

She cited NAAF research that suggests drugs and alcohol, gangs, bullying and a lack of motivation play key roles. But she said there have been some successes keeping kids in school — eLearning programs, aboriginal immersion schools and the involvement of elders.

“There are lots of shiny objects out there being marketed but we have to use methods that are proven to work and invest wisely,” she said.“The days are gone when the government could create a solution in Ottawa and take it to the hinterland. That has produced decades of failure.”

Mr. Duncan appears to agree with this sentiment, which makes it all the more puzzling why one of the more successful native education pilot projects in the country now finds itself short of funding. The First Nations Education Steering Committee in B.C. was commended by the Auditor-General as the way forward for aboriginal education in Canada. Since the Conservatives came to power in 2006, they have complained that they are merely funding agents for the 500 or so band schools that operate without any educational or financial accountability.

Band chiefs have resisted attempts for more direct control from Ottawa, especially when it comes to questions about whether the money intended for education is even being spent on kids (First Nations educators say in many cases, it is not).

But in B.C., FNESC has offered a solution, bringing together a number of band schools with the intention of acting like a provincial school board by defining the quality of education, classroom sizes, curriculum and teaching certificate requirements. It has attempted to introduce standards on a par with provincial schools in the 14 largest band schools in the province, with some success (the graduation rate is now over 50%, up from 36% in 1998). The goal is to achieve funding levels on a par with provincial schools. Making exact comparisons is difficult but everyone, including Mr. Duncan, agrees a funding gap exists, with some estimates suggesting it may be as high as $3,000 per student in provinces like Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

Yet despite its successes, FNESC now finds itself in a funding dispute with the Aboriginal Affairs department, which wants to retain an oversight capacity, and has presented a funding plan that is absent money for language and culture programs. “We want kids to know who they are and where they belong. We’re appalled by that decision,” said Christa Williams, negotiator for the FNESC. “We just want our students to be treated like any other student in B.C. But we’ve been told if we don’t agree they will go to another region.”

Of course, you can’t always get what you want and the taxpayer should not be treated like an ATM by First Nations. But the B.C. project appears to fulfill Ms. Jamieson’s criteria for programs with a proven track record. She said that many Canadians look at Canada’s native reserves and think the situation is hopeless. “But there is a way out and it is achieveable in our lifetime,” she said.

The benefits to the Canadian economy of closing the education gap over 15 years would amount to savings of $115-billion, according to the Centre for the Study of Living Standards, and an addition of over $400-billion to the country’s GDP. For those who say Canada can’t afford more spending on aboriginal education, the clear answer is we can’t afford not to.

Centre clearance for four Uttarakhand Power projects soon

Dehradun, November 23
It was not mere a bonhomie when the Uttarakhand Chief Minister, Major-Gen BC Khanduri (retd), went to meet Union Minister for Power Sushil Kumar Shinde in New Delhi and expressed his gratitude to the Ministry of Power and the Central Government for revising and raising the allocation of unallocated power of Central Generating Station of the northern region to Uttarakhand during the winter season, according to a press note of the state government issued here today.

This revision and raise in the allocation of power has in totality increased over-the-years accumulated power (given to Uttarakhand) to approximately 100 MW. It is to be noted that keeping in view the requirement of power of northern states with the onset of the winter season, the Centre allocates the unallocated power of Central Generating Station to needy states.

General Khanduri discussed with Shinde four hydroelectric projects that are awaiting “techno-economic clearance” from the Centre. These projects are: Lakhwar (300 MW), Bowala Nandprayag (300MW), Kishau (660MW) and Vyasi (120MW). Of the four projects, the Vyasi project with a capacity of 120 MW has been approved.

Shinde has assured the Chief Minister Khanduri that the Power Ministry and the Ministry of Water Resources are working in tandem and examining the four projects. The clearance will be given to these projects soon. Shinde also assured Khanduri of extending all sorts of assistance in harnessing potential of the Vyasi power project and the other ones in the state. Union Power Minister Shinde suggested that if the state was willing to provide land for setting up a power project free of cost, then his ministry, through the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), could start a coal-based power plant in Uttarakhand. Of the total generated power from this plant, 50 per cent will be granted to Uttarakhand.

Khanduri also drew Shinde’s attention towards the slowdown in the working of Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) in the two gas-based power projects in the state. The company has signed an MoU with Uttaranchal Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (UJVNL) for executing two gas-based power plants in the state. According to an assessment, there is a demand potential of about 5 million standard cubic metres of gas per day in Uttarakhand. Looking at the demand potential in the state, GAIL is currently executing two pipeline projects, namely the 182-km Karanpur-Moradabad-Kashipur-Rudrapur pipeline (Rs 239 crore) and 170-km Saharanpur-Haridwar-Rishikesh-Dehradun pipeline (Rs 255 crore).

These two pipeline projects could carry gas to the consumers in the districts of Kashipur, Rudrapur, Roorkee, Haridwar and Dehradun.

Shinde told Khanduri that since there was a shortage of gas, GAIL is finding it difficult to spearhead the efforts on the two gas power projects in Uttarakhand, according to the state government officials.