The elephant in all rooms
I was invited by the Governor General of Canada to attend a reception to mark the 2022 Royal Tour of Canada of the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. I was intrigued. I had read that the themes of the tour were Indigenous reconciliation and climate change. While my invitation stemmed from my […]
Can we set aside ‘Group Think’ long enough to fix environmental assessment in Canada?
I have often wondered when we stopped thinking. In 2016, when Liberals approved the Kinder Morgan pipeline, I looked in vain for any cost-benefit analysis. As an intervenor in the National Energy Board pipeline hearings, I knew that the NEB had refused to look at any evidence on jobs and the economy. The only evidence […]
Environmental lobbying leads for third month in April, including discussions about Senate environment bills
Environmental discussions topped federal advocacy for the third consecutive month in April, with one of the most active organizations targeting climate change policy and Senate bills related to the environment. “I think with a newly re-elected government in the fall there’s a pretty busy agenda, in terms of things that they’d like to get done […]
Alberta court decision a chance to fix flawed environmental impact assessment regime, says Green MP May
The Trudeau government says it will go to the Supreme Court of Canada to defend the 2019 environmental impact assessment law, but Green MP Elizabeth May says the Liberals should instead use the opportunity to fix the legislation by incorporating the expert advice Ottawa solicited, and then ignored, the first time around. May (Saanich-Gulf Islands, […]
Groups return to ‘invaluable’ in-person advocacy on the Hill after years lobbying behind screens
The return of in-person lobby days in Ottawa continued in May, with representatives of organizations glad to be back on Parliament Hill to pursue dialogue with MPs face-to-face for the first time in years. Among those organizations was the Direct Sellers Association of Canada (DSA), a trade association representing companies that market and distribute products […]
Carbon capture an important strategy for cement sector
Like many conversations in Canada, the debate over the future of fossil fuels has created a false narrative about the critical role that carbon dioxide removal technologies like carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) play in decarbonizing our economy and securing a net-zero future. Look no further than the dismissal of the tax credit for […]
A prescription from health professionals: strengthen Canada’s toxics law
As physicians, nurses, and other health care professionals, we are alarmed about increasing fractures in the foundations of health and well-being, and the all too real impacts on people’s health in Canada and across the globe. To practise good medicine, we must be proactive in this moment of intersecting health harms and we must draw […]
Funding for fossil fuels could derail Canada’s new plan to reduce emissions
Canadian climate news has been a bit of a rollercoaster. Just over a month ago, the federal government released the 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan, the most comprehensive Canadian climate plan to date, and the 2022 budget, scarcely a week apart. That same week, the urgent call of the world’s top scientists reached a fever pitch […]
‘If the will is there’: Canada must address ‘root problems’ in climate plan, says environment watchdog
The government’s plan to create a net-zero economy has some sizable flaws, according to Canada’s environment commissioner. Unrealistic assumptions about hydrogen power; a carbon pricing system that tilts the burden for change away from industry and towards the poor; and a missing-in-action “just transition” plan for workers are just a few of the problems highlighted […]
Infrastructure Canada weakened climate requirements on federally funded projects after applicants complained, audit finds
Infrastructure Canada introduced a climate lens in 2018 that set clear reporting requirements for federally funded infrastructure projects, but then weakened those requirements in March 2021 following complaints from applicants, according to a new report. Environment Commissioner Jerry DeMarco’s findings reveal the federal government does not have reliable data on the emissions reduction or climate […]
