FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 1998 All Rights Reserved.
| NEWS Six novelists shortlisted for Giller prize Six Canadian writers are in the running for a prestigious Canadian honor, the Giller Prize. The nominees, chosen from more than 60 books submitted by 30 Canadian publishers, include André Alexis for Childhood, Gail Anderson-Dargatz for A Recipe for Bees, Barbara Gowdy for The White Bone, Greg Hollingshead for The Healer, Wayne Johnston for The Colony of Unrequited Dreams, and Alice Munro for The Love of a Good Woman. The winner will be named November 3 during a ceremony in Toronto, and will receive $25,000 and a bronze statue. The Giller prize is named in honor of the late Doris Giller, book review editor of the Montreal Gazette from 1981 to 1985, and assistant book editor at the Toronto Star from 1988 until her death, in 1993. Of the six finalists, three will be appearing at the third annual PanCanadian WordFest: Banff-Calgary International Writers Festival being held October 15 to 18 - Alexis, Hollingshead and Johnston. A celebration of the written and spoken word, WordFest brings together readers and writers of Alberta with national and international authors or readings, performances, book signings, panel discussions and social events. For more information call 294-7462. Vehicle emissions to be measured in Alberta Vehicle emissions measurements will be collected from major thoroughfares in Calgary, Canmore, Edmonton and Red Deer this fall as part of a joint venture between the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Alberta's Clean Air Strategic Alliance. The monitoring equipment is operated from a specially designed van called a ROVER (Roadside Optical Vehicle Emissions Reporter), which is capable of determining total daily vehicle output, as well as output per vehicle. "This ROVER van allows us to collect in-use vehicle-specific carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide data," says John Torneby, operations manager for Alberta Environmental Protection's (AEP) air issues and monitoring branch. "The infra-red beam and digital recorder it uses will give us a great snapshot of the vehicle emissions profile of our city roads." The van started testing in Edmonton on October 7, then will continue in Calgary on October 13, Canmore on October 20 and Red Deer on October 27. It will return to Ontario on November 5. "This initiative will improve our knowledge of urban vehicle emission levels," says AEP Minister Ty Lund. "By understanding the contribution of specific sources, such as vehicles, we can design programs that efficiently target those sources that significantly contribute to air quality issues. These actions, in turn, can help Alberta cities avoid the problems related to poor air quality that have developed in other parts of the world." The results of the ROVER can be used to test statistics found elsewhere, which show that 10 per cent of vehicles create 50 per cent of vehicle emissions. If similar results are found in Alberta, the need to support programs that offer tune-up or scrappage incentives will be clearer for stakeholders considering those options. The program is supported by AEP, Alberta Transportation and Utilities, CN Railways, City of Calgary, and City of Edmonton. Fate of Whaleback region looks more promising A provincial committee overseeing Alberta's Special Places 2000 protected areas strategy has recommended protection of the Whaleback. The committee noted that the Whaleback is an area deserving of protection, and that no new tenures for industrial use should be permitted. While the Provincial Coordinating Committee recognized that existing resource tenures, such as Amoco Canada's petroleum and natural gas lease, may be inconsistent with preserving the Whaleback, it recommended that the government resolve those issues by implementing the suggestions in an agreement hammered out between conservation groups and the oil and gas industry. This decision comes three months after a majority of a local committee voted that oil and gas development, mining, and logging would be appropriate activities in the area. "I am relieved that the Whaleback finally is being recommended for the kind of protection that it deserves," says Wendy Francis, conservation director of the Calgary/Banff chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society. "As one of the most environmentally significant unprotected landscapes in Alberta, its fate in the Special Places process will indicate how well the process will work in other sites." After months of debate about oil and gas development inside Special Places, three conservation groups and the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers negotiated an arrangement that would encourage the removal of oil and gas leases from inside those boundaries. The agreement asks the province to implement a variety of compensatory tools, such as lease swaps, credits against future lease purchases, royalty reductions, and accepting voluntary returns of leases. Although signed and delivered to Premier Ralph Klein and Alberta Environmental Protection Minister Ty Lund, and Energy Minister Steve West last spring, the government has failed to compromise. "Conservationists are often accused of polarizing issues rather than working toward solutions," notes Francis. "But when we sit down with industry and develop creative suggestions to resolve conflicts, we are ignored. I hope the PCC's recommendation to use the agreement to resolve the Whaleback will lead to a real effort on the government's part to protect the Whaleback." The committee's recommendation to protect the Whaleback follows a survey indicating that 85 per cent of Albertans support protecting the area from industrial uses. The poll also showed that 79 per cent favor continuing traditional ranching and cattle grazing activities. Alberta population jumps due to migration On July 1, 1998, Canada's population reached an estimated 30,300,400, an increase of 296,500 persons from the same date in 1997, according to Statistics Canada's preliminary population estimates for the country, the provinces and the territories. This increase represents a growth rate of just under one per cent, the first time since 1986 that the population has risen by less than one per cent. In comparison, the population increased 1.1 per cent between July 1, 1996, and July 1, 1997. The slowdown in growth rate was due to declines in both the number of births and in the number of immigrants who settled in Canada. During 1997/98, the population increased in only six provinces - Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. However, all these provinces incurred slower growth rates, except Alberta. Interprovincial migration was a major factor in the population increase or decline for most provinces, with an estimated 358,800 people migrating from one province to another, up 1.6 per cent from the previous year. As of July 1, Alberta's population reached 2,913,400, up 2.7 per cent from last year compared with two per cent during 1996/97. This was largely due to an increase in interprovincial migration into Alberta - one of only two provinces to record a net inflow of people from other provinces or territories. Alberta recorded a level of net migration similar to the peak of the oil boom in 1980 - an estimated 46,800 more people moved into Alberta than moved out, compared with 24,700 during 1996/97. About 36 per cent of those migrants to Alberta came from British Columbia, another 18 per cent from Ontario and 15 per cent from Saskatchewan. Government spending on culture drops Governments spent $5.7 billion on culture in the fiscal year 1996/97, down 2.8 per cent from the previous year. When adjusted for inflation, total spending on culture by all three levels of government was down 3.1 per cent from the previous year. It was the seventh consecutive year that spending on culture has declined in real terms. The federal government spent $2.8 billion in 1996/97, down five per cent from the previous year, while provincial and territorial spending declined 3.4 per cent to $1.7 billion. Municipalities, the only level of government in which spending increased (plus 1.6 per cent), allocated just over $1.4 billion to culture. Federal spending accounted for 47 per cent of the total, compared with 29 per cent for the provinces and territories and 24 per cent for municipalities. A decade ago, federal spending represented 52 per cent, provincial/territorial 30 per cent and municipal 18 per cent. On a per capita basis, the federal government spent $93 per citizen on culture in 1996/97. The provinces and territories spent $58 and municipalities $48. On the other hand, grants, contributions and other transfers to cultural organizations, institutions and artists, which accounted for 15 per cent of the federal cultural budget, increased 14.6 per cent to $427.9 million, after three straight annual declines. This increase was largely the result of increased financial assistance to the film and video sector. The largest declines in federal spending on culture occurred in Alberta (minus eight per cent) and Newfoundland (minus 7.1 per cent), due largely to a reduction in expenditures on broadcasting. The biggest percentage increases in spending occurred in the Northwest Territories (plus 13.3 per cent) and the Yukon (plus 11.9 per cent), where broadcasting and the heritage sector reaped the largest benefits. Federal spending remained concentrated on culture industries, followed by the heritage sector and arts sector. The cultural industries, which include broadcasting, film and video production, book and periodical publishing, and the sound recording industry, consumed $1.9 billion in 1996/97, or 70 per cent of the federal cultural budget. The heritage sector, which includes museums, archives, historical sites and nature parks, received $621.7 million, or 22 per cent of the total federal cultural budget in 1996/97. This amount was down slightly from the previous year. The arts sector, including performing arts, and visual arts and crafts, and arts education, received $114.3 million in 1996/97, down 7.6 per cent. This total represented 4 per cent of the total federal cultural budget. Quebec and Alberta were hit hardest by cuts in federal support to this area - primarily in the performing arts. (The Survey of Federal and Provincial-Territorial Government Expenditures on Culture is a census of all federal and provincial-territorial cultural departments and agencies. |