Environment once again tops monthly lobbying as climate activists urge action in light of extreme weather events
Environment-related discussions dominated Parliament Hill in September for the eighth straight month, with the bulk of climate lobbying coming from advocates arguing that recent extreme weather events affecting Canada necessitate swift action by the federal government. “We’re at a really key moment for climate policy in Canada,” said Caroline Brouillette, the national policy director for […]
Canada needs to address the biggest issues facing humanity, and not help the U.S. start a Cold War
TORONTO—We are at a point where critical choices are being made that risk plunging humanity into a crisis worse even than those experienced in the two world wars of the 20th century, wars that cost millions of lives. This truly existential threat is climate change which represents the biggest security threat facing mankind today. We […]
Disastrous year for climate-related events on planet
TORONTO—This has been a disastrous year for climate-related events in almost every part of our planet and, as we continue to fiddle, the world literally burns. In Canada, this meant forest fires in Newfoundland; Hurricane Fiona in Atlantic Canada; drought in some parts of Central Canada; and forest fires and drought in Western Canada. But […]
When it comes to funding zero-emission vehicle infrastructure, it’s time for Canada to step on the gas
Canada’s 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) has ambitious targets to bring down greenhouse gas emissions from on-road vehicles, especially for trucks and buses. The federal government has committed to requiring 35 per cent of the total number of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles (MHDVs) sold to be zero-emission by 2030, and 100 per cent to be […]
‘Canada needs to step up’: better department-level reporting needed on sustainable targets with Canada’s biodiversity ‘at serious risk,’ audit finds
The government is offering incomplete, untimely, and inconsistent updates on Canada’s progress fulfilling Ottawa’s sustainable development strategy with many departments are failing to offer data, despite an annual reporting expectation, according to a new report released by the federal environment commissioner on Tuesday. Canada and the world are facing what the United Nations calls the […]
The failure of Canadian toxics law in Canada means fewer cancerous substances in the air, but more on the ground
Whether used for industrial, commercial, or other purposes, cancer-causing heavy metals like arsenic, lead, and mercury compounds, or organic chemicals like benzene, are not substances to which humans should be exposed. Nationally, on-site air emissions of these and other cancer-causing agents decreased by millions of kilograms during the 2006-2020 period, but their on-site disposal and […]
Climate change clashing with human speed limit
LONDON, U.K.—I’m writing this on a plane to Greenland—well, actually, on a plane to Denmark, because there’s no way to get to Greenland by a civilian airline without going through Copenhagen first—and it has occurred to me (not for the first time) to wonder where everybody else is. My wife and I are on our […]
Can weakened democracies survive global warming?
United States President Joe Biden was right to warn of the threat to democracy represented by America’s “Make America Great Again” movement, but even if American voters manage to hold the threat at bay in the next few years, an even bigger danger to our social and political order is fast approaching: the dislocations that global warming […]
Crane: Canada needs to rethink its ‘zombie’ identity as an oil and gas superpower
TORONTO—In Canada we have a new zombie—a bad idea that refuses to die. This is the ongoing push to build liquified natural gas plants on Canada’s East Coast to replace natural gas from Russia in Europe. Goldy Hyder, president of the Business Council of Canada, implies we even have a “moral obligation” to do so. […]
Canada-Germany hydrogen agreement signals increased role for Atlantic Canada’s ocean energy resources
Last month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz signed a Joint Declaration of Intent, agreeing to co-operate towards a goal of shipping clean hydrogen fuel from Canada to Europe by 2025. Germany, like many countries around the world, is seeking long-term energy replacements for fossil fuels to meet climate commitments, and to […]
