Facing climate change, head on
We are past debating it: climate change is real, and it’s arguably the greatest threat facing the world today. Countries have finally started taking measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But this is just a start. As part of its commitments under the Paris agreement, the federal government has announced it will begin pricing carbon […]
The Liberals’ climate plan? A chocolate cake diet
Let’s get the obvious out of the way: the Trudeau administration is better than the Conservatives under Stephen Harper on environmental policy. But that does not mean they get a free ride, especially when our children’s future is at stake. The climate promises of the Liberal 2015 platform were thin. For climate action, no target […]
Still waiting for action on the Liberal clean energy promise
The federal government has been vociferous in defending its legislative and policy agenda, alleging it is protecting the environment while supporting economic development. These claims, however, are being roundly discredited including by the very expert panels the government appointed to advise on its touted energy transition. Expert panels mandated to review the Canadian Environmental Assessment […]
Canada must move fast to preserve Last Ice Area
This World Oceans Day, June 8, brings into focus Canada’s often-overlooked third ocean, the one that borders our country at the top of the world. The Arctic Ocean, along with much of the North itself, has been undergoing rapid change due to the warming of the planet. Ice-dependent species are watching their habitat disappear with […]
Walking away from treaties is an American tradition
LONDON, U.K.—It’s not just Donald Trump. The United States has a long record of negotiating international agreements and then running away from them. The rest of the world has an equally long record of heaving a sigh of regret, telling the Americans it will be happy to have them back when they get over it, […]
Liberals hiding carbon tax’s true costs
The following is an excerpt from a speech Conservative employment critic and MP for Carleton, Ont. Pierre Poilievre gave in the House on June 5 during debate on a government motion “that, despite the withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Agreement, Canada remain committed to the implementation of the agreement, as it is […]
Industry has come a long way towards reducing greenhouse gases
The International Energy Agency recently published an analysis on ways to meet the Paris agreement commitment of limiting global temperatures to below two degrees Celsius. A deep transformation of energy production and consumption needs to occur by 2050 to achieve this objective. Its analysis suggests that nearly 95 per cent of electricity would need to […]
Canadian competitiveness won’t be harmed by fighting climate change in the Trump era: analyst
Canada’s economy won’t take a major hit from the Trump administration’s dismantling of climate initiatives, thanks to the structure of the Liberal government’s carbon pricing model and ambitious green policies pursued by U.S. states, says policy analyst Nicholas Martin. “As things currently stand, the impact on Canadian competitiveness of a U.S. [administration] hostile to green policy vis-a-vis Canada’s […]
Liberals brazenly breaking fossil fuel subsidy promise
On May 16, Canada’s auditor general Michael Ferguson tabled a report that dealt with, among other things, government subsidies for fossil fuels. In the preface to his report, Ferguson expressed his annoyance at not being given all the information he and his team needed to carry out their work. Finance Canada refused to hand over […]
Green advocates back creation of new assessment agency proposed by Trudeau-appointed panel
The Trudeau government must heed the recommendation of an expert panel it convened, and strip environmental assessment powers away from agencies like the National Energy Board, the country’s pipeline regulator, because it has proven itself “ill-equipped” to handle the responsibility, according to an environmental legal group. Joshua Ginsberg, director of Ecojustice Canada’s University of Ottawa environmental law clinic, […]
