The Great Thaw: our melting Arctic must be monitored, and Canada should lead the way
Imagine autumn in the Gatineau’s without trees, or the Rideau River without water. Now imagine the Arctic without ice. All unimaginable images, yet despite our proud ‘Great White North’ designation, the problem in grasping the magnitude of an ice-free Arctic is that it seems so far from our daily lives. In fact, most of Canada’s […]
How one lobby campaign won support of mining, environment, indigenous groups and MPs from all parties
It’s not every day that a lobbying campaign can claim success based on support from 49 MPs from all four political parties in the House of Commons as well as mining, environmental, and indigenous groups. While these camps may in other circumstances clash, they spoke with one voice in recent months to push the federal […]
Liberal MP Murray quietly recruiting other Grit MPs to ensure $6.8-billion Kinder Morgan pipeline follows all conditions
A senior British Columbia Liberal MP, who did not want the government to approve the $6.8-billion Trans Mountain Kinder Morgan pipeline, is holding discussions with other Liberal MPs from the province to put in place a monitoring system to ensure that all 157 conditions required by the government in the construction of the pipeline are […]
Will the Arctic Search and Rescue capability be reduced?
OTTAWA—While many welcomed the Dec. 8, 2016, announcement of the selection of the Airbus C295 as the replacement Search and Rescue (SAR) fixed-wing aircraft to replace the fleet of Buffalo and C-130 Hercules aircraft tasked with SAR, others may not be so welcoming. The C295 SAR aircraft will be deployed in only four locations in […]
No northerners in cabinet, no problem for veteran Yukon MP
Liberal MP Larry Bagnell was once invited to speak at a high school graduation in his riding, as most MPs are. However, for most MPs the journey to a high school in their riding would not consist of flying in a small plane, being grounded due to fog, and hitchhiking the rest of the way […]
‘It has a terrible history,’ Indigenous Affairs needs to go in order for reconciliation to happen, says Liberal MP
Liberal MP Robert-Falcon Ouellette says the department of Indigenous and Northern Affairs may have to be rebuilt entirely if reconciliation is to happen. The MP from Winnipeg Centre, Man. said he thinks the history of the department that was responsible for many years for the marginalization of indigenous people runs too deep, and that for the culture […]
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 […]
Making good on food promises
In 2012, the then-United Nations special rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier De Schutter, visited Canada at the government’s request. It was the first such mission to an industrialized country. Government ministers at the time were vocal in their disapproval that a UN office focused on food security should consider a rich country like Canada worth a visit. […]
Trudeau ‘the changer’ has morphed into ‘the compromiser’
OAKVILLE, ONT.—If for some odd reason, Canada’s opinion leaders had to choose a fairy tale character to be our prime minster, my sense is they’d pick Goldilocks. I say that because with her “not too hot, not too cold” porridge policy, along with her “not too hard, not too soft” bed strategy, Goldilocks instinctively understand […]
Next budget should fund Indigenous Guardians Network
One year ago this month, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its final report. Its pages described the anguish caused by residential schools and the gaps remaining between indigenous and non-indigenous people in terms of education and prosperity. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau praised the report, saying “This is a time of real and positive change. […]
