New openness to decolonization also needed in Inuit climate-health research
Shortly after the new year, a major press conference was held in Ottawa to announce a $40-billion settlement over the systemic underfunding of child welfare services to Indigenous children. It struck me as critical that this settlement had finally been made, but also vital was the tone in which Indigenous Crown Relations Minister Marc Miller, and […]
Liberals eye carbon capture tax credit as key piece of net-zero plan, but critics see more fossil-fuel subsidies on horizon
Look to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland to introduce a tax credit for carbon capture projects in this year’s budget, say observers, flagging that the credit’s final design will be a signal of just how much weight the government is putting behind the initiative. Supporters of the promised tax credit for carbon capture, utilization, and storage […]
It’s time to think big, bold, and act with a sense of urgency
TORONTO—As the world seeks to avert catastrophic climate change, the times call for “ferocious deployment” of clean technologies already here, but also “ferocious innovation in potentially game-changing technologies,” Eric Lander, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, urged in a challenging speech last month. So it’s time to think big and […]
Trip-wires and trap doors abound as Parliament resumes
CHELSEA, QUE.—As MPs re-assemble today—another hybrid sitting, for now—there is only one safe, if very general, prediction about the session to come: no one will be happy. The Liberals will feel affronted and misunderstood, nit-picked to distraction by their inferiors. The Conservatives will continue to scan the horizon—with night scopes, if necessary—looking for something to […]
O’Toole attack on Guilbeault an appeal to blue collar class, says strategists
Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole’s mid-January video criticizing the Liberal’s climate change policy was derided by some commentators for misquoting Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault and blurring the truth, but strategists note it was a pointed appeal by the Conservatives to “entire classes” of Canadians who depend on the energy economy. It’s an approach that may win […]
Are Canadians adequately preparing for tomorrow’s risks today?
OTTAWA—Davos, the annual January gathering in the Swiss Alps of heads of state, business leaders, policy wonks, activists, and journalists, was cancelled this year due to COVID, but the World Economic Forum (WEF) still released its Global Risks Report which typically helps shape the Davos agenda. The 2022 report provides an intriguing perspective of the […]
It’s time Canadians embraced equitable, low carbon lifestyles
Some observers regard the COP26 summit in Glasgow as a turning point in the race against climate change, setting humanity’s course toward an equitable, sustainable future. However, unless we build on what was accomplished there, future generations might well ask how, with so much at stake and so little time left, we could have fallen […]
‘Against the flow’: critics question move by Canada’s Pension Plan Investment fund to keep supporting big polluters
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, which manages an investment fund of approximately $541.5-billion for more than 20 million contributors and beneficiaries of the CPP, is making both an ethical and financial mistake, according to one Bloc MP, by continuing to invest in high-emitting businesses as long as those businesses commit to decarbonizing over the […]
Climate emergency is here, but solutions exist, says Ottawa letter writer
In 2021, extreme weather, such as heat waves, forest fires, floods and droughts, made worse by climate change was felt in many parts of the world, including Canada. More records will be broken and more destructive impacts from climate disruption will be felt in 2022. We need immediate, rapid, large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and a plan for a just […]
Vitally important to respect Indigenous rights and leadership in all aspects of climate action, says Edmonton letter writer
In 2021, extreme weather fuelled by the climate crisis made headlines around the world—heat domes, forest fires, floods, droughts. Climatologists expect more records to be broken and more destructive impacts from climate disruption in 2022. Over the holidays, millions of people watched Don’t Look Up, a feature film that communicates the dangers of ignoring dire scientific warnings. People are ready and calling for ambitious climate action. […]
