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The Canadian Federal Government promulgated new and lower NO2 Ambient Air Quality Standards (CAAQS) that went into effect in 2020 with additional decreases scheduled for 2025. The new hourly and annual NO2 CAAQS are 60 and 17 ppb, respectively, and the 2025 hourly and annual CAAQS are 42 and 12 ppb, respectively. The province of Alberta has also promulgated Ambient Air Quality Objectives (AAAQO) for NO2 currently set to 159 and 24 ppb on an hourly and annual basis, respectively. The Wood Buffalo Environmental Association (WBEA) in northeastern Alberta, Canada monitors NO2 at 21 community and industrial sites throughout the Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR), for regulatory compliance using Thermo-Environmental (TEI) Model 42i Federal Reference Method (FRM) designated NO-NO2-NOx analyzers. The 42i measures NO directly via NO-O3 chemiluminescence, and NOx following the reduction of oxidized nitrogen to NO by a heated internal molybdenum converter. The difference between the NOx and NO channels is reported as NO2. This study presents the results of a three-year (2018–2021) WBEA comparison of four continuous NO2 analyzers: TEI 42i FRM; the API Model T500U cavity attenuated phase shift (CAPS) Federal Equivalent Method (FEM); a total reactive odd nitrogen analyzer (TEI Model 42i-Y); and a TEI 42i equipped with an external photolytic converter. The study showed that NO2 data from all analyzers were highly correlated and in general agreement, with r2 values (vs. the CAPS) ranging from 0.990–0.997 and slopes ranging from 0.933–0.992. Mean NO2 concentrations over the study period ranged from 7.2–7.5 ppb. Differences between the TEI 42i, TEI 42i-Y, and PhoNO, relative to the CAPS were all positive and highly significant (p < 0.0001), based upon nonparametric tests. The potential impact from the selection of different FRM/FEM measurement methods on current and future Canadian 2025 regulatory compliance in the region is evaluated. Implications: The study objective was to compare/evaluate different regulatory NO2 measurement techniques from a regional monitoring authority in a routine network operational context. Relatively small NO2 differences resulted in significant differences with respect to regulatory compliance triggers, particularly hourly standards based on daily extreme value statistics (e.g., 99th percentiles). For example, mean hourly NO2 △ differences ranged from 0.02–0.26 ppb over the study period but resulted in 2–3 ppb differences in the 3-year hourly CAAQS metrics. These differences could affect regulatory CAAQS and LARP compliance (management level) at monitoring sites observed during 2019 annual and 2020 hourly LARP trigger exceedances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 23 April 2012 was the 28th general election in the Canadian province of Alberta. This election was not merely the closest the reigning Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta came in their 41-year reign to losing; it was one of the most exciting elections in recent Canadian history with an outcome of national significance. This review highlights the unique party system in Alberta, discusses the major issues and trajectory of the campaign, and examines the unexpected results. This election could have altered the dynamics of Canadian federalism and inter-party relations in Alberta. As a result, the outcome was unexpected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thesis that Canada's original major political parties were also the principal entities that bound the federation together is a well-explored subject. Over the last four decades, the disappearance of any political party in Canada that can convincingly claim to perform that function arguably throws into doubt the utility of the thesis. In the present article, and focussing once again on the political evolution of Saskatchewan and Alberta, the author re-examines the case he earlier advanced for the pre-eminence of political parties as fundamental institutions for the maintenance of Canada's unity. He argues that this analysis gave inadequate attention to the structures and practices of federalism, an oversight that has grown more evident in light of the strains that have accompanied recent developments in federal-provincial relations, in particular between the centre and the "twin" provinces created by Parliament in 1905. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]