UNESCO delivered a blistering assessment of the state of Wood Buffalo National Park, and the Mikisew Cree First Nation believes there is a path forward for Canada
Natural World Heritage Sites contain the planet’s most outstanding natural wonders and Canada has the honour of having one of the largest, Wood Buffalo National Park. The heart of the park is the Peace Athabasca Delta (PAD), one of the world’s largest freshwater deltas and a unique area supporting migratory birds, wood bison, and Indigenous […]
Incremental Tory tweaks won’t make for a better Canada
OTTAWA—This election season is as uninspiring as Hillary Clinton’s candidacy for president in the 2016 U.S. election, yet it’s probably one of the most important elections for at least a decade. This is the election that will determine who gets to redraw the board, in terms of what the priorities are and which structural changes […]
Promises, promises, but the GG might actually keep hers
In Beauty and the Beast, there is a scene where the Beast is looking for advice as to how he can win the love of Belle. Lumière, the talking candlestick, helpfully suggests that the Beast make Belle “promises you don’t intend to keep.” As we have entered the season where election promises are made, some […]
Disaster proof: spiking natural disasters cause for shift in approach, say politicos
Climate-related disasters are on the rise and Canada—like the rest of the world—is being pulled into this uneasy maelstrom, but, according to experts and politicians, it’s not too late to turn the tide. Most recently, efforts have been made here with the continued promotion of the Government of Canada’s “Get Prepared” campaign. Originally launched in […]
Tipping points: they must not happen
GIBSONS, B.C.—Heatwaves, wildfires, floods, drought, and polar vortex cold—extreme weather is going to be on the minds of voters in the coming federal election. Our evolutionary history has left us with brains that focus upon the local and temporal and people have noticed how out of whack the weather has become. As Gwynne Dyer points […]
It is time for justice, reparations, accountability, a Just Transition for all, says Gatineau reader
I’m sure everyone is aware at this point of the two words, climate change. This is a very real issue. Climate change is perpetuated by human activity the most. Here are a few examples of how you can identify climate change nowadays: yearly increase in temperatures, more extreme temperatures, devastating wildfires, acidic rain or snow, […]
Time for talk is over, it’s time to fight climate change
TORONTO—Why is there such a wide gap between what we know and what we do? The world’s leading climate experts are now warning that we are in a “red zone” as climate change this summer triggers heat waves and forest fires, floods and drought in every corner of the world—with the worst yet to come, […]
This federal election should be about climate change, period
The International Panel on Climate Change, the UN body for assessing the science related to climate change, released its landmark sixth report, Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis on Aug. 9, and it’s alarming. The report says climate change is rapid, widespread, and intensifying, and the world is in a climate emergency. We say, it […]
Time to act on this climate emergency with the urgency it deserves, says Ottawa reader
Most fossil-fuel workers in Canada want the government to legislate a Just Transition to renewable energy. According to a poll recently released by Iron & Earth, 69 per cent of oil and gas workers are interested in shifting to jobs in the green economy. What are they waiting for? The Just Transition Act that Prime […]
Survey says: health care, COVID benefits, affordability, and climate change top of mind for voters
OTTAWA—Over the past two weeks, I have had the great pleasure of guest hosting VOCM’s Openline program in Newfoundland and Labrador. Openline is a long-standing platform for all manner of discourse in my home province. It can often be a useful barometer of which issues are top of mind for the people of the Rock […]
