Air transport system’s road to recovery will be long and challenging
The air transport system was severely hit by the global pandemic due to restrictions on air travel—locally nationally, and globally. While the path to recovery will require diverse measures to safeguard players in the system, sustainability must be top of mind in the process. The air transport system consists of a number of key players, […]
From the pandemic to global warming: why we need Sustainable Development Goals
The recent assertion on the streets of Washington, D.C., and Toronto by libertarians and Donald Trump supporters of the right to behave as they wish—irrespective of their responsibility to fellow citizens in the face of a deadly pandemic that has killed more than a quarter of a million in the U.S. and almost 12,000 in […]
Economic, industry concerns top-lobbied issues amid return to Parliament and second COVID wave
Lobbying returned to lower levels, in line with past years, in October—the first full month of regular parliamentary proceedings since the pandemic started—with economic development, industry, health, and the environment the focus of most government relations efforts. Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains (Mississauga-Malton, Ont.) and Economic Development Minister Mélanie Joly (Ahuntsic-Cartierville, Que.) were among the top-lobbied […]
Modernizing the Canadian Environmental Protection Act should be a public health priority
Following the 2019 federal election, the government made two distinct commitments on environmental legislation. First, it committed to introducing legislation to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Second, it promised to strengthen the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) to adequately protect Canadians from 21st-century toxic pollution and harmful chemicals. The federal government has delivered […]
PMO’s Canada-U.S. relations team gearing up for transition to Biden administration
A slimmed-down Canada-U.S. relations unit first established within the Prime Minister’s Office nearly four years ago following the election of President Donald Trump remains in place heading into president-elect Joe Biden’s administration, with a concentration on the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, trade issues, climate and energy, as well as a renewed focus on international […]
A climate plan that works for the planet and the oil and gas sector
The federal government presented its long-awaited climate accountability legislation last week, with binding commitments to achieve Canada’s Paris Agreement climate targets, and net zero emissions by 2050. The strengthened commitments present a huge challenge, especially considering that Canada has been setting, and missing, climate targets for almost 30 years. On one hand, Canada needs to […]
Canada must legislate climate targets to avoid embarrassment at COP26
For the past quarter-century, late autumn has marked the beginning of the UN’s annual climate negotiations. Had 2020 gone as planned, thousands of negotiators, diplomats, journalists, activists, land protectors, and elected officials would be gathering in Glasgow for the 26th Conference of Parties (COP26) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change to discuss, with […]
Stopping habitat loss is key to saving Canada’s endangered species
Canada has been losing and saving species for a long time. Since European settlement, over 100 species have been lost here. These include plants and animals that are extinct and extirpated and species that are considered historic (no one has seen them in Canada for a long time). The number of lost species varies between […]
When does ‘bold’ start?
CHELSEA, QUE.—So far Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s “bold,” green, post-pandemic recovery plan appears to lack boldness. And detail. And deadlines. In fact, it is in danger of disappearing altogether this winter as all available political and media space is occupied by the pandemic and the other political contagion down south. Historically, Liberal environmental promises have […]
Canada is slowly rolling towards low-carbon transport
Last year, the federal government recognized climate change as an “emergency,” yet one doesn’t get much of a sense of urgency when reviewing the government’s efforts to curtail greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the transport sector. While every other sector of Canada’s economy has seen emissions reductions since 2005, emissions from transport have grown substantially […]
