The new labels are seen as a victory for the food processing industry and won’t tell consumers how much sugar, in all its different forms, was added to a product by the manufacturer. As well, the new daily value for sugar chosen by Health Canada is too high to encourage healthier eating, says Bill Jeffery, a lawyer and executive director of the Centre for Health Science and Law, a non-profit group in Ottawa.

“The new labels will make so many sugary breakfast cereals, pop, candy and desserts look a lot heathier than people now assume they are,” says Jeffery.

Canadians already consume on average 40 kilos of sugar a year, and there is growing concern about the impact such a sugary diet is having on our health.

A study published in January by researchers from Public Health Ontario and the University of Waterloo found that two-thirds of the 40,829 food products it examined from a national grocery store contained added sugars. The study screened for 30 added sugar terms. Products found to contain added sugars included almost half of baby foods and infant formulas, as well as a number of products marketed as healthy.

When Jane Philpott became Canada’s minister of health, her mandate letter from the prime minister directed her to improve food labels to give consumers more information about added sugars.

Sugars that are added to foods, as opposed to sugars that occur naturally in fruit, vegetables, grains and dairy products, are associated with an increased risk of diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease, as well as cavities, says University of Toronto public health researcher Jodi Bernstein. Added sugars are empty calories, and can displace more nutritious foods, including fruits and vegetables, which help protect against disease.

Less than a third of the sugar Canadians consume comes from what is found naturally in foods.

Some scientists have connected a high rate of sugar consumption with diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer’s. Robert Lustig, an expert in childhood obesity at the University of California, says the problem with sugar goes far beyond empty calories. His 2009 lecture, “Sugar, The Bitter Truth,” has been viewed more than six million times on YouTube. He argues that sugar isn’t just making people fatter, but is a poison on its own.

Canadian consumers, non-governmental organizations, health professionals and provincial and territorial governments had been pushing for food labels that would make it easier to determine how much sugar a manufacturer added to products. The government seemed to be listening.

But the food industry pushed back, arguing there is no chemical difference between natural and added sugars, and that consumers would find the concept of added sugars confusing.

Both sides of the debate were reported in a document presenting the regulations on labels published in the Canada Gazette in December, but the food industry prevailed. The new labelling rules don’t require manufacturers to list how much sugar they add to cereal, yogurt and many other products.

Health Canada says the new labels, to be in place in five years, represent a step forward because they offer consumers more information than they now have about sugar in the products they buy.

In the new labelling system, all sugar-based ingredients, like glucose-fructose, will be grouped together on the list of ingredients. Their placement on the list, written in descending order by weight, will make it easier to assess how sugary a food is.

For the first time, there will be a per cent daily value for sugar (% DV) as there now is for sodium and most other nutrients: five per cent or less signals a product has a little bit of sugar, and 15 per cent indicates it has a lot.

It may be a step forward, but Canada’s approach is not in line with developments in the United States and the United Kingdom or in keeping with advice from the World Health Organization (WHO).  The 2015 U.S. proposal for changes to the nutrition label includes added sugars and set a recommended daily value for added sugars at 10 per cent of daily calorie intake – or 50 grams a day.

Canada went with total sugars instead of added sugars, but also picked a daily value for total sugar that is too high to be healthy – 100 grams or 25 teaspoons, says Jeffery.

A typical can of pop contains, he says, more than 150 per cent of the WHO’s daily target for added sugars, but only 35 per cent of Health Canada’s daily value for total sugars.

Froot Loops has more sugar than any other ingredient and more sugar per bowl than most other cereals on grocery store shelves, says Jeffrey. But under the new nutrition labels, shoppers who check the facts on the back of the box could easily conclude that the cereal isn’t so sugary after all, he says, because the amount of sugar falls below the threshold 15 per cent daily value.

Most people know sugary cereals are more of an occasional treat than a healthy choice.

“But with Health Canada’s new labels, you could look at Froot Loops and think, `hmmm, maybe they aren’t so bad after all,’” says Jeffery.

Bernstein says the government missed an opportunity to help Canadians make healthier choices and reduce their risk of adverse health effects from too much added sugar.

Labels that made clear how much added sugar is in a product could encourage competition between manufacturers to put less sugar into their brands, she says.

Going forward, it will be difficult for researchers to study the impact of added sugar on the health of Canadians compared to people in other countries.

Governments have other options, says Bernstein. They can subsidize heathier food options, levy a tax on soft drinks and other products high in added sugars, or require manufacturers to reformulate products to include less sugar. Putting a red, green or yellow light on the front of packages to indicate whether a product is a healthy choice could also make it easier for consumers.

Health Canada could also move to restrict marketing of unhealthy food to Canadian children, another priority in the health minister’s mandate letter from the prime minister.

The government is working on a Healthy Eating Strategy and says it will use every tool at its disposal – legislation, regulation, guidance and education – to create conditions to support healthy eating. As part of this effort, it is revising Canada’s Food Guide.

But food labels are one of the most consulted sources of nutrition information in Canada, says Bernstein, so it is unfortunate the government missed the chance to make them more effective.

As for the food industry’s arguments, there is no chemical difference between added and natural sugars, acknowledges Bernstein, but that is not the point. It is easier to consume empty calories when you eat foods with added sugar, with none of the nutrients offered by fruits and vegetables to help protect against disease.

What about the argument that consumers would find the concept confusing? Jeffery and others disagree. Why are American and British consumers capable of understanding added sugars but not Canadians?

Health Canada has been consulting Canadians on “front-of-the-pack” nutrition labelling. Jeffrey, who in the ’90s lobbied for the “Nutrition Facts” labels currently on the back of packaged foods, has come to see that they are too complicated for most people to use effectively. A simpler regime on the front of packages that included an overall nutrient score would make it easier for consumers to buys healthier products, he says.

Most companies will wait until the government decides on what has to be on the front of packages before they change the nutrition facts on the back, so there is still time for Health Canada to change the labelling rules on sugar, says Jeffrey.

Both he and Bernstein stress that good nutrition is about far more than reducing added sugar. It’s about eating a diet rich in fruit and vegetables and whole grains.

Says Jeffrey: “The much bigger problem is we are not getting enough fruits and vegetables and we are getting too much sodium, and too many calories.”

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For years, the settlement of about 160 people has been powered by noisy diesel generators, but a new hybrid energy system that combines solar and diesel power with energy storage began operating in December 2015. By the end of February, Northwest Territories Power Corporation (NTPC) was able to switch the generators off for a few hours at a time.

“Talking to people in the community, they said that when that hum of the generator stopped, the silence was amazing,” says Myra Berrub, manager of energy services for NTPC, the government-owned utility.

During the long, sunny days of summer, Berrub expects that all of the electricity in the community will come from two solar arrays that are connected to lithium-ion batteries. The new system, installed after extensive consultations with the community, will reduce its dependence on diesel, which can only be brought in once a year by winter road. NTPC sees it as a demonstration project on how to provide cleaner and more secure energy to remote communities.

“It is certainly something we are hoping can be replicated,” says Berrub.

Diesel is currently the fuel of choice in almost 300 remote communities across Northern Canada, home to 200,000 people. More than half are indigenous communities.

More than 90 million litres of diesel are trucked, barged or flown into these communities every year. Delivery costs have risen dramatically – up 70 per cent in Ontario between 2004 and 2008. It is a trend that is expected to continue because of climate change. Rising temperatures are shortening the window during which delivery trucks can safely cross frozen lakes.

At the same time, the demand for energy is increasing. In Colville Lake, for example, peak demand went from 40 kilowatts in 1990 to 160 in 2014. Many communities are under pressure to increase the capacity of their generating system to serve growing populations and fuel economic growth.

Lack of generating capacity is a serious problem. It restricts expansions to nursing stations and schools, and limits construction of new homes, forcing families to crowd into existing houses. A number of remote communities, such as Colville Lake, are turning to renewable sources to bolster their energy supply. In Northern Ontario’s Deer Lake, for example, the construction of a 152-kilowatt solar panel on the rooftop of the school meant that five new homes could be connected to the grid.

Lack of generating capacity also limits economic growth, according to a 2014 Senate committee report titled “Powering Canada’s Territories.” Existing businesses cannot expand and new businesses cannot open without a reliable source of energy.

Then there are the environmental costs. Generators are noisy and emit nitrogen oxides and other pollutants. Spills can contaminate soil and groundwater. A spill could be devastating in communities where diesel is barged in, says Judith Sayers, the former elected chief of the Hupacasath First Nation on Vancouver Island and an adjunct professor of business at the University of Victoria. As well, many First Nation, Inuit and Metis communities are worried about climate change and want to do their part to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. Using local resources and protecting the environment for future generations is consistent with their values and traditional way of life, says Sayers.

All these factors are driving the growing momentum to add renewables to the energy mix in remote communities.

In July, Manitoba, Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, the Northwest Territories, Yukon and Ontario established a pan-Canadian task force to reduce the use of diesel fuel to generate electricity in remote communities. But governments can’t achieve that goal alone.

Last year, the Pembina Institute brought together First Nations, governments, the private sector, researchers and non-governmental organizations for the second biennial Renewables in Remote Microgrids conference.

The MaRS Discovery District’s Advanced Energy Centre is also working with stakeholders to identify and overcome various barriers to adopting alternative energy systems in remote communities. The centre is a private-public partnership between Siemens Canada, Ontario Power Generation, London Hydro, Oakville Hydro, NRStor, Hydro Ottawa, the Independent Electricity System Operator and Ontario’s Ministry of Energy.

One barrier is the lack of confidence in alternative sources of energy. People in northern communities have relied for years on generators. And as in Colville Lake, they expect that diesel generators will remain an essential part of the system, providing power when it is cloudy or on the darkest days of the year.

“Even with the addition of renewable energy resources, everybody agrees the diesel generators should stay on site and be serviced to be functional – that is for sure,” says Aaron Barter, program manager at the Advanced Energy Centre.

Many communities are now considering projects, but a number of obstacles stand in their way.

Renewable energy projects can require a significant initial investment. The Colville Lake project, for example, cost close to $8 million, although that price tag – in addition to a new diesel plant, large battery energy storage system and a utility-scale solar array – includes the cost of moving to a new site at the old airport.

Communities often must turn to multiple government departments and agencies to raise the capital for alternative energy projects, says Barter.

For example, a solar and conservation project at T’Sou-ke First Nation in British Columbia, received funding from 16 different sources.

The Advanced Energy Centre is working with its partners to identify alternative funding models and other solutions.

Both Barter and Sayers see tremendous opportunities for the private sector as communities move forward on this issue.

Sayers’ community is not remote, but it is a leader in renewable energy. In the late ’90s, when she was the chief, the Hupacasath First Nation was concerned about plans to build a generating plant in nearby Port Alberni.

As an alternative, the First Nation built a micro-hydro project on China Creek that now supplies power to 6,000 homes. Water flows downhill through a pipe and powers a turbine. The First Nation partnered with Synex International, an independent power producer and engineering firm that has a 12.5 per cent share in the project. The other partners are the Ucluelet First Nation (10 per cent) and Port Alberni (five per cent).

Sayers predicts other small-scale entrepreneurs and independent power producers will see the opportunity and partner with First Nation communities as they shift to renewables.

Barter sees a global opportunity. The remote microgrid market is currently worth an estimated $2.4 billion, and that is expected to increase to more than $10 billion annually by 2024.

“Remote communities around the world are looking for clean, low-cost energy, which presents a great opportunity for us to export Canadian technologies and know-how to communities in emerging economies such as India, Colombia and Chile.”

Back in Colville Lake, as the days get longer, progress is measured in the increasing number of diesel-free hours of power generation. But the project will also offer answers on the feasibility of renewables in the north.

“So far, it is exceeding our expectations,” says Berrub. “It is very exciting for both NTPC and the remote communities which we serve.”

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It’s a big idea that has attracted significant investments from Bill Gates and other high-profile backers. To bolster its research capacity, the Calgary-based startup turned to Mitacs, a national non-profit organization that builds bridges between industry and academia.

With the support of Mitacs, it hired two interns – a graduate student and a post-doctoral fellow – from Professor Walter Mérida’s sustainable energy lab at the University of British Columbia.

“They add a bunch more research horse power,” says Geoff Holmes, Carbon Engineering’s business development manager. “They bring a research pedigree and access to UBC facilities, including state of the art labs and testing facilities.

“The flipside is we are generating people who, through their education and academic work, are getting trained in what is a pretty interesting strategic opportunity for Canada.”

Mérida, who is the director of UBC’s Clean Energy Research Centre, agrees that the internships are of tremendous value to his students.

“It is a great way to get context for the research they are doing and incorporate some of the market and policy considerations,” he says. “I think engineering and science must innovate within realistic business and geopolitical contexts.”

Mitacs has supported more than 10,000 similar internships over the past 15 years. It works with 60 universities and thousands of companies on projects in dozens of fields. Current collaborations are on everything from air quality modelling to whether cats can protect people from Lyme disease.

Mitacs is supported by the federal and provincial governments and covers half of the interns’ salary costs, which vary depending on the project.

Rob Annan, chief research officer at Mitacs, says the organization acts as a matchmaker between industry and universities, and in the process, helps make Canada more innovative.

For years, Canada’s private sector has lagged behind other countries on private sector investment in research and development.

Canada’s university sector accounts for a greater proportion of R&D compared to many of the country’s competitors. But higher-education R&D spending is less likely to produce tangible innovations – new products, services or processes – than business R&D spending, says the Conference Board of Canada in its 2016 report, “How Canada Performs.”

“It is a big policy concern: Why are companies not investing? Why this underperformance? Governments look at universities and industry and say, why can’t you two work together?” says Annan.

“But there is a culture difference between the two and not a lot of existing linkages. Businesses and universities come at challenges from different angles, but there are common points, points of intersection.”

Mitacs talks to businesses to find out what the challenges are and then taps into a national network of university researchers who have the people, experience and equipment to help. Interns are the mechanism for collaboration.

Annan says many companies with no previous links to academia are surprised at the value of having a PhD student on staff. A Vancouver roofing company, for example, was able to more accurately estimate the cost of materials needed for a job because a doctoral student in computer science helped with 3D modelling. Annan says one in four of Mitacs’ industry partners created jobs so they could hire their interns.

Carbon Engineering has closer ties with academia than many of the companies that work with Mitacs. It was founded by former University of Calgary researcher David Keith, who is now at Harvard.

There are a number of processes for capturing carbon out of smokestacks. But Carbon Engineering is one of the few firms in the world that is working on what is known as direct air capture – taking carbon dioxide out of the air. If they succeed in optimizing the process and scaling it up, it could be a new tool in the fight against global warming. Finding a new pathway to synthetic fuels would be a revolutionary step forward in the efforts to shift to a low-carbon economy.

Luisa Burhenne, the post-doctoral student from Mérida’s lab, will be working on a project to look at several leading chemical pathways to convert carbon dioxide into liquid fuels.

“The goal is to produce synthetic fuels from atmospheric C02 and renewable energy,” she says.

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