Feds should fund indigenous environmental guardians network
OTTAWA—When it comes to protecting the land, water, flora, and fauna around mining operations, companies use a wide range of tools, technologies, and expertise. Increasingly, that expertise comes in the form of traditional knowledge from local indigenous communities. But innovative solutions are needed to enable communities to contribute on a larger scale. What we’re talking […]
Trans Mountain expansion approval already a big political mess
The Big Lebowski, one of the funniest movies ever made, begins with two hired goons threatening and demanding money from “the Dude,” Jeffrey Lebowski. When the goons realize they have the wrong Jeffrey Lebowski, they leave, but not before one of them urinates on the Dude’s rug. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Natural Resources Minister […]
Politics This Morning: Trudeau to host first ministers’ meeting in Ottawa
ICYMI: Yesterday, the Bank of Canada announced that Viola Desmond will become the first woman to have a portrait appear on a regularly circulating bank note. Ms. Desmond will be featured on $10 bills starting in late 2018, having been selected by Finance Minister Bill Morneau from a short list of five iconic women. Ms. […]
Which of the world’s cities has the longest line for the washroom?
More than 700 million people live in urban areas without access to proper sanitation. Put into context, the line-up for people waiting for toilets in our cities and towns would stretch around the world 29 times. WaterAid’s second annual report on the state of the world’s toilets, Overflowing Cities, examines the status of urban sanitation […]
Electoral reform has become that dog turd in the park no one picks up
OTTAWA—When it comes to political communications, as in life, you win some and you lose some. Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government won for the way it messaged its pipeline decisions and flamed out miserably when it came to its stick-handling of electoral reform. In announcing that he was conditionally approving two pipelines, rejecting […]
Pipeline decisions about getting resources to market sustainably, says Natural Resources Minister Carr
The government’s decision to approve the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain and Enbridge Line 3 pipeline projects “speaks volumes about what the government of Canada thinks of the necessity of building infrastructure to get our resources to market sustainably,” Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr told a crowd of Alberta businesspeople at a Calgary Chamber of Commerce event […]
Creation of a mining ombudsman on horizon, says Liberal MP championing the cause
Canada may soon have an extractive resources ombudsman who would ensure that Canada’s mining companies act ethically, according to the Liberal MP who has been championing the cause. In an interview with The Hill Times, Liberal MP John McKay (Scarborough – Guildwood, Ont.) said he expects to see a clear plan in place by March […]
Canada’s affection for Trudeau has just begun
TORONTO—Do journalistic conventions rewire our brains? It’s a serious question. In the fun new sci-fi movie Arrival, the plot posits the theory that language changes the way we think, and not the other way around. The aliens keep telling everyone what they think—kind of like a racist and sexist Donald Trump did, over and over—and […]
Liberal government’s $1.5-billion marine safety plan may fall short with increased tanker traffic
The government’s recently announced five-year, $1.5-billion marine safety plan may just be a drop in the ocean in terms of what is actually needed to prevent and clean up oil spills affecting Canadian waters, say some observers. Noting that Canada has the longest coastline in the world, the Prime Minister’s Office said in early November […]
Oil pipeline offers Trudeau little political gain
MONTREAL—It is a rare government decision that involves a lot of predictable political pain for little obvious electoral gain. For better or for worse, the approval by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of the controversial Trans Mountain pipeline falls into that category. It is unlikely to win him supporters within the ranks of those who most […]
