Learn English with the Honourable Minister of Technology and Innovation, Nate Glubish. In this episode, Dr. Glenis McInnes, Minister of Environment and Protected Areas, and Mark Summers, Associate Vice President, Agriculture and Environment with Alberta Innovates, make an announcement at the University of Alberta.
00:00:01.000As we begin today's announcement, I'd like to recognize the land on which we gather.
00:00:07.000The University of Alberta acknowledges that we are located on Treaty 6 territory
00:00:12.000and respects the histories, languages, and cultures of First Nation, Métis, Inuit, and all First Peoples of Canada,
00:00:21.000whose presence continues to enrich our vibrant community.
00:00:25.000On behalf of all of us here at the University of Alberta, I'd also like to extend a warm welcome to the Honourable Nate Glubish, Minister of Technology and Innovation, the Honourable Rebecca Schultz, Minister of Environment and Protected Areas, and Mark Summers, Associate Vice President, Agriculture and Environment with Alberta Innovates.
00:00:49.700At the University of Alberta, we are committed to bringing our expertise to bear on the grand
00:00:57.720challenges of our time, including here at home on the issues that are impacting Albertans.
00:01:04.840This idea is central in Forward with Purpose, our first pan-institutional strategic plan
00:01:11.520for research and innovation. Also central to that plan is the understanding that collaboration
00:01:18.420collaboration can drive transformational change here in Alberta and worldwide.
00:01:24.420Indeed, collaboration has long been at the heart of our collective successes here in the province.
00:01:31.420We're pleased to be working once again with Alberta Innovates and the Government of Alberta,
00:01:37.420as well as other collaborators to accelerate the development of key technologies
00:01:42.420that will ensure Albertans can rely on a clean water supply today and for generations to come.
00:01:50.260To tell us more about the Alberta government's investments in innovative water solutions,
00:01:55.700I'd now like to welcome to the podium the Honourable Nate Glubish to deliver remarks.
00:02:06.420Well, thank you, Amina. Always a pleasure to be at the University of Alberta
00:02:10.500to talk about some really exciting new technologies and new innovations that are going to change the
00:02:17.660world. And if you've heard me talk before, you've heard me say this, but it bears repeating.
00:02:23.520Technology is not just an industry. It is the future of every industry. Last week,
00:02:30.140you probably saw me talking about military applications of technology when we had the
00:02:34.680really exciting announcement of NATO Diana choosing the University of Alberta as one of
00:02:39.380new test centers well today we're here to talk about a different topic we're here to talk about
00:02:44.340water and there has never been a more important time for us to turn our attention to the topic of
00:02:50.740water this upcoming year we all know it is going to be a dry year we all know that we are facing
00:02:58.100risks of drought across the province and so it is so important for us to be making investments
00:03:04.900into new technologies and into research that will help us to do even more when it comes to
00:03:10.900conservation of our water, when it comes to the protection of our water, when it comes to the
00:03:15.460cleaning and remediation of wastewater. Alberta has a great reputation around the world as being
00:03:22.340some of the most responsible developers of our natural resources and it is absolutely possible
00:03:28.100for us to build such a reputation as some of the most responsible stewards of our water.
00:03:33.300That is why the Alberta government is so proud to be financial partners with the University of Alberta through Alberta Innovates, to be investing in numerous exciting research projects.
00:03:45.780In fact, over the last nine years, we've invested $75 million into over 150 different projects focused on water.
00:03:55.520This is so important for Alberta's future.
00:03:58.960and today i'd like to highlight a recent project that is gaining a lot of traction
00:04:06.400one of those technologies that is being piloted right here with expert researchers from the
00:04:11.600university of alberta and they're partnering with the city of calgary this technology uses
00:04:17.280a granular sludge reactor to increase the amount of processed water that can be reused and recycled
00:04:24.000and it will also increase the performance and the capacity of municipal water treatment facilities
00:04:31.360this project has the potential to change the world and it most certainly will help to make
00:04:38.480all alberta municipalities more efficient in how they deal with wastewater and it will help our
00:04:44.000province to conserve more water at a time like the one we are facing now with the upcoming drought
00:04:51.200conditions this could never be more important so I offer this as just a
00:04:59.720recent example of the really compelling and exciting technologies that are being
00:05:03.980developed at our world-class post-secondary institutions across the
00:05:07.400province like the University of Alberta every single day we need to celebrate
00:05:12.200these successes we need to share these stories to Albertans so that Albertans
00:05:15.980can take heart and be proud of the innovative and entrepreneurial spirit
00:05:20.540that we have in this province it's part of who we are it's part of our dna and there is no problem
00:05:25.660too big for us to tackle with technology and make no mistake alberta's government is doubling down
00:05:32.540on technology we are here to stay we are here to show the world that we will be one of the most
00:05:37.580innovative jurisdictions in canada and we will help solve problems around the world with our
00:05:43.420technology with that i'd like to pass the podium to my friend and colleague minister rebecca
00:05:49.900Schultz to share a few words. I have to say Minister Glubish, I so appreciate your passion
00:05:59.380for technology and innovation and it is so great to be here with you today and thank you so much
00:06:04.620to the U of A for hosting us here. Water is absolutely one of our most precious resources
00:06:10.560and I can tell you it's something that I talk about every single day because now more than ever
00:06:16.180we have to find new and better ways to make every drop count as our province and in fact most of the
00:06:22.020entire country faces drought conditions this year our province is growing communities are growing
00:06:28.900all of our major industries are growing more and more Canadians and people from around the world
00:06:34.340are choosing to come here to live to work and to raise their families that is a wonderful thing
00:06:40.580and as a province we have to adapt to meet those demands we need to use water more efficiently
00:06:46.100so that communities and businesses alike can grow and thrive we're doing more than any government
00:06:52.020in alberta's history to maximize our province's water supply in the months and years to come
00:06:57.540the largest water sharing agreements in alberta's 118 year history are right now
00:07:02.340underway conservation plans are being put in place for the spring summer and fall
00:07:07.700and beyond and millions are being invested on restoring watersheds and creating new wetlands
00:07:13.300in southern Alberta and of course across the province.
00:07:16.420We've also announced well over a hundred million dollars for a new drought and flood protection
00:07:21.780program and tens of millions more to improve water management and storage. All of this helps.
00:07:27.940Better water storage and conservation, new infrastructure, increased water sharing and
00:07:32.980natural thriving wetlands will protect communities and make more water available for families and
00:07:38.180businesses but we also need to do what alberta does best and that is to innovate our province
00:07:44.740is the home of innovators and big thinkers the researchers and the entrepreneurs who have shown
00:07:50.420time and time again that they don't back down from a challenge and that is why we are funding water
00:07:56.020innovation and technology in a big way this 75 million dollars and counting is helping develop
00:08:01.700new technologies to use and conserve water more effectively and more efficiently it's also
00:08:07.140providing important funding to better protect water quality and maintain healthy aquatic
00:08:11.460ecosystems for generations to come. A great example is looking at innovative ways to recycle
00:08:17.300more water while treating our existing supply responsibly. For instance, the water treatment
00:08:23.140technologies being created right here at this university in this lab that I hope we're going
00:08:28.260to have time to see today before we run off to question period will help industries recycle
00:08:32.740wastewater while reducing emissions and keeping more fresh water available for communities
00:08:37.380downstream granular sludge reactors are about 10 times more efficient than any other wastewater
00:08:43.300treatment technology on the market today and it can also reduce emissions by up to 15 reduction
00:08:49.860in some applications this funding has also mapped groundwater for the milk river aquifer in southern
00:08:55.060alberta helping provide more safe and secure water supply for an increasingly dry part of our province
00:09:01.700It has also helped researchers at the University of Lethbridge implement more functional flows to
00:09:07.220restore riparian wetlands along the Old Man and Waterton rivers. It's helping develop new
00:09:12.740technologies to reduce water use in the oil sands and creating new potable water testing
00:09:19.060labs for rural communities. And that is just the start. With 65 projects ongoing, we'll be seeing
00:09:24.660more of this in the months and years ahead. Innovation in Alberta is everywhere. We know
00:09:30.740that companies municipalities academia industries and communities are all innovating too together
00:09:36.980we can absolutely reduce the impacts of drought improve water quality and use water more efficiently
00:09:43.300and effectively to ensure we help growing communities enjoy water for life thank you
00:09:48.740Thank you so much and I'd now like to invite Mark Summers from Alberta Innovates.
00:10:01.860Thank you very much Minister Schultz and Minister Glubish and to the wonderful team here at
00:10:05.700the University of Alberta where I'm proud to have completed both my undergrad and my
00:10:09.960graduate studies right here in the Faculty of Engineering.
00:10:14.300Water, as we all know, is one of those things that often gets taken for granted until it's
00:10:20.180not available or until supplies are short.
00:10:23.940The Water Innovation Program that we're here talking about today advances the technologies,
00:10:30.700tools and knowledge to ensure Alberta has a safe, secure and reliable water supply so
00:10:37.860communities businesses farms and ecosystems have the water they need now and into the future
00:10:46.660as the province's innovation engine alberta innovates plays a role in delivering the most
00:10:51.540powerful innovation and resources to manage water efficiently and effectively we will continue to
00:10:58.980work with the great innovators and entrepreneurs in the province of alberta to advance their ideas
00:11:04.740and their ingenuity so we can all enhance the resilience of our province in the face of climate
00:11:10.980pressures and water supply challenges it is exactly this type of innovation and knowledge
00:11:16.900supported by the water innovation program like the granular sludge reactor say that five times fast
00:11:23.220we're highlighting today that can prepare us to respond to the drought we're in the midst of now
00:11:28.660and for the next water crisis whenever and whatever that may be so it is my
00:11:34.440great honor to invite dr. Simon a Burisk University of Alberta's Dean of
00:11:38.940Engineering to come forward and offer some thoughts dr. Burisk
00:11:49.020thank you thank you Minister glue fish Minister Schultz and dr. Summers my name
00:11:58.160is simon i'm the dean of the faculty of engineering here at the university of alberta
00:12:03.360the university of alberta's faculty of engineering is at the forefront of developing groundbreaking
00:12:09.040engineering solutions to address critical water quality sustainability and management challenges
00:12:16.080we've been at this for almost 100 years it's not new but we're picking up quite a bit of steam
00:12:23.520our researchers are spearheading innovative initiatives to ensure the responsible and
00:12:29.200efficient utilization of water resources benefiting current and future generations
00:12:34.880in alberta and globally in 2023 academic rankings of world universities our environmental engineering
00:12:44.720program which houses the water research that we do ranked second in canada and top 20 worldwide
00:12:52.640something to be very proud of what we're gonna get it to be number one in
00:12:58.520Canada and top 10 worldwide fairly soon the faculty is home to six Canada
00:13:05.420research chairs engaging in water related research across a broad range of
00:13:10.940specialties from sustainable and resilient wastewater treatment to
00:13:16.060advanced polymer reactions intermolecular forces and interfacial
00:13:21.440sciences within the faculty of engineering there's upwards of 28 principal investigators
00:13:28.720who are currently engaged in water research and they basically go into three different themes
00:13:35.920water and wastewater treatment technologies like the lab that we're going to see today
00:13:40.720which studies the safe reuse of treated wastewater in sectors including municipal and rural indigenous
00:13:48.000as well as a lot of industrial works and remote communities water quality
00:13:54.880monitoring and management work that improves the sustainability and safety of water resources for
00:14:01.680human use aquatic ecosystems and recreational and industrial purposes got a lot of robotics
00:14:09.760and automation and mechatronics work going on to support that work and third was the water
00:14:16.880resource management which includes understanding and modeling water systems
00:14:22.040and developing solutions for various challenges including flood and drought
00:14:27.020control our faculty is also home to the newly minted water research center it
00:14:35.000got set up and approved in collaboration with industry current sponsored by
00:14:42.680EPCOR as a center devoted to tackling a range of global challenges related to water through
00:14:49.540collaborations between industry, university, and government.
00:14:54.280I believe that through our collaborative efforts and the support of the Alberta government
00:14:59.560and partners such as Alberta Innovates, we will generate far-reaching outcomes that will
00:15:04.560continue to benefit our province and the country as a whole.
00:15:09.540Thank you for your continued support and thank you for the work that Alberta Innovates continues
00:15:14.020to do in helping us push the envelope further.
00:15:18.040With that, thank you and I ask Dr. Robinson-Faig to come back for closing remarks.
00:15:29.900Thank you Dr. Ebris for all those remarks.
00:15:32.280I'm always so inspired to hear about the work of our researchers and innovators and also
00:15:37.580the spirit of collaboration that helps us advance real-world solutions to pressing challenges of
00:15:42.940our time. I look forward to seeing more from the teams highlighted in today's announcement
00:15:49.100and continuing our work with the government of Alberta and with Alberta Innovates.
00:15:54.380That concludes today's formal announcement. We will now set up for questions.
00:16:00.140Thank you, Doctor. For media in the room, we have a media mic right here. If you have any questions,
00:16:04.620we'll start in the room and then we'll go to the phones please identify your name you're an outlet
00:16:10.540and we will go with one question one follow-up go ahead laura crow city news i'm not sure who
00:16:15.740this question could be directed to maybe one of the researchers i guess this water this new
00:16:20.940technology can increase the amount of water that can be reused and recycled do you have numbers
00:16:26.460and can you explain the impact that this new technology will have when conserving water
00:16:34.620our principal investigator of the work is spending a sabbatical in australia so i'm trying to fill in
00:16:47.420i'm a construction engineer so i know very little about the subject but i'll ask if dr gamaladeen
00:16:53.740can you come and answer that question for us dr gamaladeen is director of the water research center
00:17:00.940and a lead researcher in water thank you can you repeat that question again please with this new
00:17:08.540technology um it can reuse and recycle water so i guess i'm wanting to know are there numbers how
00:17:14.380how much of an impact is this going to have when conserving water so with this uh technology we
00:17:20.620can actually perhaps treat more volume of the municipal wastewater so in biological treatment
00:17:26.540system so you can actually process more water within a certain time frame so this means uh
00:17:33.020you can actually supply more demand for the reuse of the water hopefully with this treatment
00:17:37.740followed by some other advanced tertiary treatment then the water could be safely
00:17:41.420used for reuse agricultural reuse or other applications
00:17:50.220and i might just explain why that's so important so if we've been as we've been working with
00:17:55.260industries and municipalities over the and all major water users over the last number of months
00:18:00.540uh one of the suggestions has that has come up is is looking at our wastewater reuse regulations
00:18:06.620if we can uh essentially uh make sure that larger quantities of water are cleaned to this type of
00:18:13.500technology uh and essentially cleaned to higher levels that will enable us to release more of
00:18:19.420that water because one of the concerns is that as we're looking to uh release that water especially
00:18:25.100in a time of drought where there's less other water in the system to dilute that there are
00:18:29.580very real health and safety concerns with that so this type of innovation helps us look at
00:18:35.260wastewater reuse a lot differently and certainly more effectively. Do you have a follow-up? Yes
00:18:41.100coming out of a very dry winter or a dry year in general I guess how dire of a state are we in right
00:18:46.380now in Alberta when it comes to drought conditions and why are these technologies important at this
00:18:51.740time yeah so right now uh we are in probably the most significant drought situation that we've seen
00:18:58.460since 2001. it's not just in alberta of course i believe over 70 percent of canada is experiencing
00:19:04.460these types of drought conditions with el nino this spring that's why we've entered these water
00:19:09.260sharing agreements with all of our major water users especially in southern alberta where the
00:19:13.900situation uh is is a little bit more intense i would say uh in the past we haven't had to declare
00:19:20.220an emergency we've had all those major water users come together to say look how can we conserve
00:19:24.620water how can we use less what might we have in our water allocation to share with other users
00:19:29.580so that everybody has access to some water but as we look at this type of research research
00:19:35.340what this does is allow us to use water more efficiently more effectively to reuse water
00:19:41.340more efficiently and effectively and doing that in a way that helps maintain our high
00:19:46.860environmental standards but also protects human health and safety as well as aquatic and animal
00:19:52.300health and safety as well uh just to add to that you know one of the things that minister
00:20:02.140schultz mentioned that is so important is this is the worst drought conditions we've seen since 2001
00:20:09.100it's not the first time we're seeing it but it's the first time in a long time and that is why
00:20:15.180you know if we were waiting until this happened to be investing in new innovation we'd be making
00:20:20.140a mistake and that's why it was so important for us to highlight today that we've been investing
00:20:24.940in this for the last nine years 75 million dollars over 150 different research projects
00:20:31.740all of which are focused on cleaning our water conserving our water helping to return to return
00:20:39.420wastewater into a form that could actually be reused in a safe way we are becoming world leaders and
00:20:45.900experts in this space we are investing heavily in the space and we've been doing it thinking ahead
00:20:52.140knowing that someday this day would come this is how we are preparing for days such as this
00:20:58.220and we're not going to stop here we're going to keep on investing heavily in this kind of research
00:21:01.900because we know that we need to lead the way and show the rest of the world the best way to go
00:21:06.700And that's why I'm so proud of the great work that's happening at the University of Alberta
00:21:10.700and the work that we're doing through Alberta Innovates to ensure that the funding is there
00:23:44.760This will likely be an initiative that is across ministry and across different levels of government.
00:23:51.900And so, you know, I think that's something that remains to be seen exactly how we're going to do that.
00:23:56.300But for now, we're focused on making sure we've got the research resources and that we're leading the country in being the most innovative in how we're going to attack drought-like conditions
00:24:06.260and to support our municipalities with new technologies that will help them to become even better at what they do.
00:24:10.740and we have someone else who can add to that
00:24:16.660um hello everyone uh brett pretty albert animates so i just wanted to say a few things on behalf of
00:24:23.900the research team um that couldn't be here today and so to identify first uh the particular
00:24:29.300technology activated granular sludge is being tested in the province uh today in three different
00:24:34.680areas looking at high strength high organic wastewater streams in municipal settings at
00:24:39.440the University of Calgary in the craft beer and distillery settings with another company in the
00:24:46.800province, and then also looking at testing it to address issues about landfill leachate.
00:24:54.300Material, the water that leaches off of landfills in the province, which is a portion of landfills
00:24:59.500with our groundwater and our aquatic systems. But specifically in terms of the work that's being
00:25:04.660done with the City of Calgary. The current project is basically commercializing that
00:25:09.980technology up to a commercial scale. So the work plan in front of the City of Calgary,
00:25:15.060in front of the research team right now, is putting in place sort of a full-size reactor
00:25:19.960that's being tested at the facility, which will effectively be the demonstration of the
00:25:26.300technology so it's available for commercial workload after this. So it's really the first
00:25:30.040commercial demonstration of the technology in a municipal setting. So I think that answers the
00:25:34.480question in terms of timelines. It'll be when this project is finished. Thank you for that.
00:25:40.660And operator, can you please put through our next caller?
00:25:47.880Hi, thanks for taking my question. This is for Minister Schultz. I am an off-topic, but, you know, as a representative for Calgary Shaw MLA, I'm wondering if I can get your reaction to Calgary singer-songwriters Tegan and Sarah using their
00:26:02.960accepted speech at last night's Juneau Awards to condemn the government's proposed policies that
00:26:08.540once passed will affect transgender youth and if you think it is time for your government to revisit
00:26:13.300those policies. Sure, I would just say that I wasn't aware of that speech and I'm not sure the
00:26:22.740comments that you're talking about but I am sure that Minister Furr would be able to answer your
00:26:28.140questions if you reach out to her office.