Kicking the tires on climate-change policy
Say you need a new car, so you head to the closest dealership. The salesperson shows you a car with a price that makes your jaw drop—$350,000. Sensing your apprehension, the salesperson shows you the dealership’s cheapest model at only $200,000. You’re not a multi-millionaire, but you live far from your work, with no alternative […]
It’s showtime: Morneau’s economic advisory council calls for $15-billion skills development initiative, tax cuts, policy changes
TORONTO—Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s Advisory Council on Economic Growth has issued its third and final report. Chaired by Dominic Barton, global managing director of the consultancy McKinsey & Company, the 14-member council was appointed early last year and held its first meeting in May 2016. It has been busy since then, producing three sets of […]
It’s high time to upgrade the Fisheries Act
If once upon a time the belief that fisheries were an endless natural resource was common, it is now abundantly clear that it is not. Fisheries are declining fast around the globe, and Canada is not exempt from this. For example, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC), an independent advisory […]
‘It’s the question of whether we want to continue in the status quo’: stakeholders worry environmental assessment process could lead to cut corners
Industry associations and environmental groups are mostly backing the increased government collaboration recommended as part of a new environmental assessment process, though some worry that cutting out the individual steps could lead to cutting corners. Currently industry must often do separate assessments for federal, provincial or territorial, and aboriginal governments when looking to have a […]
Active transportation needs a federal champion
TORONTO—Canada needs a federal champion for active modes of transportation such as cycling and walking. At present, no federal minister has been assigned responsibility for supporting active transportation in this country. Mandate letters, used to set priorities for federal ministers, make no mention of active transportation. This is a problem for so many reasons. Active […]
Canada must redirect public financing away from fossil fuels
On Dec. 12, French President Emmanuel Macron will be hosting a climate change summit in Paris. The summit will focus on redirecting financing away from fossil fuels and towards climate solutions such as clean, renewable energy and green infrastructure. This will be an important opportunity for the Canadian government to make progress on two challenges: […]
Plenty of challenges for Ottawa to sort through with carbon pricing in 2018, say critics and observers
While the Trudeau government is refusing to back down from its plan mandating provinces and territories impose a carbon levy in 2018, it must still contend with competing concerns over regional pushback, rising American competition, and ever-present political optics, say critics and observers. Most notably, the Saskatchewan and Manitoba governments and Alberta’s popular United Conservative […]
Time for Canada’s shift to a new, green energy economy
As the impacts of climate change become more apparent, it’s clear that all countries must do what they can to keep the global average temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius. This is the target that the global community has recognized and signed onto at the climate change conference in Paris in 2015. According to […]
Trans Mountain pipeline’s expansion called into question amid growing concerns
As the clock ticks on regulatory permits, the fate of the Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain Expansion pipeline becomes less certain. Trans Mountain appealed to the National Energy Board in October regarding its inability to get the proper permits from the City of Burnaby, B.C. to be able to start the project. The Trans Mountain Expansion […]
Climate action: economic opportunity with social justice
Re: “Canada misses opportunity for climate justice,” (The Hill Times, Nov. 27, p. 17). Who apart from the coldest heart could not agree with Shaughn McArthur? But he misses the key point. The big picture here is that we are just in the early phase of catastrophic changes due to climate change, and already governments […]
