New research suggests beavers may be susceptible to the fatal illness – increasing spread between species
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is an infectious disease that affects the central nervous systems of animals, typically affecting cervids such as deer, elk and moose. “CWD is always fatal. There’s no cure; there are no treatments,” says Debbie McKenzie, a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences. CWD is increasing its geographic range as well…
Findings could help beef producers manage grasslands for economic and environmental benefits
A sweeping project co-led by University of Alberta researchers will provide the most comprehensive mapping ever of how much carbon is being stored in perennial grasslands across Saskatchewan. The resulting data from the $3.2-million initiative will help cattle farmers there – and eventually all across Canada’s prairies – manage their land to keep as much…
Researchers and agriculture company battle the crop-damaging disease and train new scientists
A $1.25-million research project is tackling clubroot resistance in canola to help battle new strains of the crop-damaging pathogen. Funded by agriculture company BASF, University of Alberta plant scientists Stephen Strelkov and Sheau-Fang Hwang will work to identify new sources of pathogen resistance that can be bred into canola seeds. New strains of clubroot, a soil-borne disease that attacks the…
Manitoba must follow the science and re-introduce the bill to lift the ban on cosmetic pesticides
Manitoba needs to follow the science and not give into ideological environmentalists who value kneejerk emotionalism over positive outcomes. A case in point is the province’s sensible decision to lift a ban at least partially on cosmetic pesticides passed by the previous NDP government back in 2014. Cosmetic pesticides are pesticides used to control weeds…
All the social and justice indicators show that things have only worsened among Indigenous peoples
The March 9, 1988, police shooting of J.J. Harper on the streets of Winnipeg and the much earlier murder of Helen Betty Osborne in The Pas in 1971 led Manitoba Premier Howard Pawley’s government to commission the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry (AJI) on April 13, 1988. This occurred in the middle of the election campaign that…
Oil tankers off West coast are bad but drilling for oil off Newfoundland's coast is OK
We all know politics is the art of the possible. Perfection isn’t for the real world. We aren’t surprised when tradeoffs and the occasional compromise creep into government policies. Nor do we require elected members of government, even at the ministerial level, to be experts in their portfolio areas, although we expect them to avail…
Reinvesting in local co-operatives could help attract people to rural communities and keep them there
Should we be looking to the past to help boost the future of the province’s rural economy? A hundred years ago, local co-operatives were a fairly common way of doing business in rural areas. Now the Alberta Centre for Sustainable Rural Communities is researching ways to make this old model work in a modern economy. “It’s a…
Research could help ranchers adapt to climate change and preserve vital ecosystems
Ranchers who frequently rotate cattle between fields – resembling how bison once moved across Canada’s prairie – build drought resistance into Western Canada’s grasslands, according to a series of University of Alberta studies designed to find ways to improve the net carbon balance of grazed grasslands and nurture more resilient landscapes. “The way we manage…
This is far from the best time for most Manitobans. Covid-19 has poisoned the prairie province’s economy, the finances of the government, education, healthcare, small businesses and more. The reigning party is on the ropes in a difficult environment that favours an even bigger spending opposition to win the next election. That, though, would exacerbate…
Research identifies genetic traits that could lead to breeding more efficient livestock
A new research project could help ranchers customize their cattle to the type of pastures they have, creating economic and environmental benefits along the way. The research, launched this past summer, involves tracking the movements and feeding habits of grazing cattle to identify genetic traits that could lead to breeding more efficient livestock. The project…
Fans returned in droves and the league’s economic engine is now moving in the right direction
The Canadian Football League had much to celebrate on Sunday. For one thing, this year’s Grey Cup was an exciting and memorable contest. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers beat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 33-25 in overtime to win the 108th Grey Cup at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton. (These teams played in the previous Grey Cup in…
Supply chains in Western Canada have always been vulnerable and that’s not going to change anytime soon
Images from British Columbia over the past week have been heartbreaking: human casualties, dairy cows barely breathing above water before being pulled to safety, the loss of livestock across the Fraser Valley. Just devastating. And the flow of goods on rail and roads is severely compromised. Many now claim that flash floods and atmospheric rivers…
Truth and Reconciliation Commission chair will give a virtual address during fall convocation
The Honourable Murray Sinclair, the first Indigenous judge in Manitoba and the driving force behind the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, will deliver the commencement address virtually to graduands as part of the University of Alberta’s fall convocation ceremony to be held Nov. 19. Sinclair is Anishinaabe and a member of the Peguis First Nation. “On…
Bad government decisions have one thing in common: lack of independent oversight
A litany of disastrous government decisions in Canada have sometimes cost lives and definitely many billions of dollars. The list is long: effectively cancelling the Global Public Health Intelligence Network; the failure to implement the pandemic preparedness protocols developed by the federal government’s public health officer; the Alberta government’s disastrous ‘investments’ in the Keystone XL…
Trade is essential for Manitoba’s economy. International exports and imports represented 46.4 per cent of its gross domestic product in 2018. With a significant goods-related industry estimated at 26.9 per cent of GDP in 2019, Manitoba needs strong trading partners to help develop its economy. In 2019, 30.6 per cent of its exports were resource-based…
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is an infectious disease that affects the central nervous systems of animals, typically affecting cervids such as deer, elk and moose. “CWD is always fatal. There’s no cure; there are no treatments,” says Debbie McKenzie, a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences. CWD is increasing its geographic range as well…
