Lethbridge food banks adapting to uncertain Canada Post future
As a potential second Canada Post strike in less than a year looms closer, some people are turning away from the mail carriers.
'We have started to do a lot more of our bill payments, as much as we can, via e-transfers and that sort of thing,' said Valerie Lazicki, executive director of the Lethbridge Food Bank.
She says the strike in December was especially difficult for non-profits in Lethbridge.
'That time of year is the big donation spur from community members, so it was troublesome. There were cheques that were stuck in the mail.'
Get daily National news
Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy
The other major food bank in Lethbridge, the Interfaith, said they were equally concerned at first, but found the mail service wasn't as necessary as they thought.
'While it did delay donations, we found that a lot of our donors adapted and found other means to give, primarily online, or people would come into the building to give us the cash right here on site,' said Danielle McIntyre, executive director of the Interfaith Food Bank.
Story continues below advertisement
For her organization, this second strike comes during the largest summer fundraiser of the year, the annual 'bakeless bake sale.' The Interfaith is hoping to raise $40,000 and McIntyre says she expects those who want to donate will do so, with or without Canada Post.
The same sentiment is echoed by Lazicki, who says once the transition is made, there is no reason to go back to paper mail.
'It's long-term. Once we switch over our suppliers to that form of payment, it's easier for them, it's easier for us.'
McIntyre says everything from newsletters to bills will be moved to paperless methods, even as their summer campaigns kick into high gear.
'We will be adapting to ensure we can still communicate with our donors regardless of Canada Post's activities.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Global News
42 minutes ago
- Global News
Report suggests renewable cleanup rules making Alberta less competitive for investment
A report says new cleanup rules for renewable energy sites are hurting the competitiveness of Alberta's industry. Business Renewables Centre-Canada analyzed the reclamation security requirements for renewables in 27 jurisdictions and found Alberta's are now the most costly. Under a code of practice for solar and wind projects published last week, the Alberta government says operators must provide an estimate for the cost of dismantling turbines and panels, removing underground concrete infrastructure, hauling waste away, replanting vegetation and other items. A 30-per-cent security is required upfront, rising to 60 per cent after 15 years to ensure there is enough money for proper cleanup at the sites' end of life. BRC-Canada says Alberta's upfront security requirement is unusually high and the rules don't take into account the salvage value of the concrete and metals that could be sold to recoup cleanup expenses. Story continues below advertisement The Alberta government issued the new rules in February 2024, just as a seven-month moratorium on new renewable project approvals expired, but it had yet to lay out the details around how they'd be implemented. 5:14 Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announces end of ban on renewable energy projects Jorden Dye, BRC-Canada's director, said many renewable projects are being built by multinational companies that can move their capital around easily. 'And it'll just be really disappointing if we see Alberta lose out and lose our ground as the biggest developer of renewable energy in the last few years in Canada because we've continued to place onerous rules on the industry,' he said. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy In addition to the reclamation security requirements, the province has placed buffer zones around wind turbines so as not to impede 'pristine viewpoints' and is taking an 'agriculture first' approach to deciding what can be built on farmland. The province is also working through consultations on the structure of its energy market as well as transmission regulations. Story continues below advertisement 'If you take one by itself, it's OK — we might be able to live with it, or we can work around it,' said Dye. 'It's kind of getting to the totality of the decisions that's really driving some of the concerns.' The BRC-Canada study noted some jurisdictions — such Illinois and Tennessee — require a 100-per-cent reclamation security, but only 10 per cent of that must be paid upfront. 'Renewable energy projects are really sensitive to the upfront capital cost,' Dye said. 'Having that as an operating annual cost is a lot different to whether a project will go forward than if it's an upfront cost.' 2:05 Alberta unveils strict new rules for renewable energy Three-quarters of the jurisdictions the group compared accounted for the salvage value of materials once projects are dismantled. While that amount may not reflect the real-world value of the metal and concrete decades into the future, it does go a long way toward offsetting the reclamation costs, Dye said. Story continues below advertisement Dye said wind and solar projects generally have a lifespan of 20 to 50 years, but components are often refurbished along the way. And when they're done operating, there is decades' worth of real-world data to make pursuing another development easier. While an oil or gas well will eventually become depleted, 'the sun and the wind will still be there in those exact spots,' Dye said. The cost of cleaning up old oil and gas wells has been a major issue in the oil and gas sector. The Alberta Energy Regulator estimates that as of June 2024, there were $36 billion in environmental liabilities. In announcing the renewables policy in February 2024, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said the province was looking for a different and better way to approach solar and wind cleanup than what had been done for oil and gas. 'It is critical that we do not repeat errors of the past, and that we have reclamation rules and costs accounted for at the beginning of any development,' she said. The reclamation bond or security can be paid to the Alberta government, or be negotiated between the renewable developer and a landowner. Janetta McKenzie, oil and gas program director at the Pembina Institute think-tank, said the rules for wind and solar are fundamentally different than 'generous and flexible' ones for oil and gas. Story continues below advertisement In that sector, companies are required to pay about one per cent of cleanup costs in upfront securities, with no firm timelines, she said. The industry-funded Orphan Well Association looks after closure costs when an energy company has gone bankrupt or otherwise cannot meet its obligations. But that organization 'is also buttressed by some interest-free loans from the provincial and federal government and is pretty persistently underfunded,' McKenzie said. 'This is a province that wants to unleash its energy sector, but there is an energy sector that's waiting for a stable regulatory environment and then one that is being given a lot of options to not reclaim and not clean up itself in a timely manner.' 1:45 Alberta to introduce renewable energy recycling fee
Global News
an hour ago
- Global News
F-35 costs soar nearly 50% amid delays, AG reports
The cost of Canada's incoming fleet of advanced stealth fighters has exploded by nearly 50 per cent in just a few years, auditor general Karen Hogan said Tuesday in a new report. The fighter jet audit is one of eight tabled in the House of Commons by Hogan and environment commissioner Jerry DeMarco which flagged problematic procurement contracts, a backlog in applications for First Nations status and a lag in reducing federal office space. An investigation by the auditor general of Canada finds costs associated with the F-35 advanced fighter jet program are running $8.7 billion higher than the original estimates. And it warns the program is being plagued by delays and crucial shortfalls — including a lack of qualified pilots. The report lands in the middle of an active review ordered by Prime Minister Mark Carney to examine possible alternatives to the F-35. He ordered the review in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war with Canada. Story continues below advertisement National Defence said in 2022 the base price for the F-35s would be $19 billion — just two years later, that number has climbed to $27.7 billion. That does not include estimates for infrastructure upgrades or weapons. The report found the department's 2022 estimates relied on outdated data from 2019 – despite the availability of better estimates showing 'that costs of the aircraft had already increased substantially.' The audit finds issues associated with the global pandemic – such as runaway inflation, rising facilities and munitions costs and volatile foreign exchange rates – pushed the price tag sky high. Auditor general Karen Hogan also warns that the program faces 'significant risks that could jeopardize the timely introduction of the new fleet.' Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy She said the department successfully identified the risks but has not planned appropriately to mitigate them. Construction of two new fighter squadron facilities — in Cold Lake, Alta., and Bagotville, Que. — is running three years behind schedule. The report says the facilities will not be ready until at least 2031 because the department needs to 'redo important elements' of their design. The department started planning the new facilities in 2020 before the government had settled on the F-35, but the aircraft comes with significant infrastructure security requirements. 'Costs to develop an interim solution to support the new jets will further increase infrastructure expenses,' the report warns. Story continues below advertisement It says the department produced a contingency plan to operate the aircraft from temporary facilities but the plan fell short because it was incomplete and offered 'no proposed actions nor a cost estimate.' Canada is also still short of qualified pilots to fly the advanced aircraft — despite being warned about this back in 2018. The report says the F-35 program lacks measures to minimize potential risks and the department failed to produce robust contingency plans. It notes that the department identified cost overruns from inflation and currency fluctuations as potential risks to monitor, but plans to track those risks were never approved by officials. The Liberal government announced in 2017 it planned to purchase 88 new fighter jets and signed a contract with Lockheed Martin for the F-35s in 2023. The modern jets are needed to replace Canada's aging CF-18 fleet, which is nearing the end of its service life. The fighter jets are expected to be delivered between 2026 and 2032. Over the next two years, the initial eight will be sent to a U.S. air force base in Arizona, where Canadian pilots will be trained to fly them. The rest will be delivered to Canada starting in 2028. 4:30 Ottawa says final talks underway with Lockheed Martin to procure F-35 fighter jets The report says the Joint Strike Fighter Program Office conducted various assessments that uncovered 'significant issues,' such as 'insufficient departmental engineering personnel to service support equipment for both the CF-18 Hornet and CF-35A during the transition.' Story continues below advertisement The audit says that at the end of the last fiscal year in March, National Defence earmarked $935 million for the U.S. government for the first four jets and related items needed to produce another eight aircraft. It says about $197 million has already been paid out. On top of that, National Defence spent another $516 million on the project, including $270 million in infrastructure costs.
The Market Online
an hour ago
- The Market Online
Market Open: Oil Gains Carry Canada's Main Index Up
Oil prices just keep rising boosting Canada's main stock index with it this morning. Market Numbers (Futures) TSX :Up ( 0.02%) 26,381.08TSXV: Up (0.60%) 725.90DOW: Up (0.04%) 42,813.00NASDAQ: Up (0.19%) 21,862.00 FTSE: Up (0.56%) 8,881.55 In the Headlines: The U.S. Federal Reserve will keep interest rates on hold for at least another couple of months, as risks linger that inflation may resurge due to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies. And Canada Post has slammed the brakes on arbitration talks, rejecting the union's terms and plunging the contract dispute into a deepening stalemate with no clear path to resolution. Currencies Update: (Futures) The Canadian dollar is up 0.08% to $0.7311, also climbing by 0.02% to $0.6301 against the Euro and Bitcoin grabs a hold of 1.66% to 149,905.36 Commodities: (Futures) Natural Gas: Down (1.30%), 3.59WTI: Up (0.54%), 65.64Gold: Up (0.32%), 3,338.12 Copper: Down (0.20%) 6.12 To stay up-to-date on all of your market news head to Join the discussion: Find out what everybody's saying check out the rest of Stockhouse's stock forums and message boards. The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. For full disclaimer information, please click here
