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Tuesday, December 2, 2025

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Rachel Plotkin

The federal 2 Billion Trees program has been cut, what’s next?

  • As is, the government’s 'investment budget' leaves a nature deficit, which chips away at the foundation of a strong Canada. We must repair the
Opinion | BY RACHEL PLOTKIN | November 20, 2025
Canada’s 2 Billion Trees program, axed in the federal budget on Nov. 4, garnered heat from all sides: opposing political parties, the auditor general and even conservation groups. Although 2BT was often portrayed as questionable, its roots were solid, writes Rachel Plotkin. Image courtesy of Pexels

The federal 2 Billion Trees program has been cut, what’s next?

Opinion | BY RACHEL PLOTKIN | November 20, 2025
  • As is, the government’s 'investment budget' leaves a nature deficit, which chips away at the foundation of a strong Canada. We must repair the

The federal 2 Billion Trees program has been cut, what’s next?

Opinion | BY RACHEL PLOTKIN | November 20, 2025
  • As is, the government’s 'investment budget' leaves a nature deficit, which chips away at the foundation of a strong Canada. We must repair the
Canada’s 2 Billion Trees program, axed in the federal budget on Nov. 4, garnered heat from all sides: opposing political parties, the auditor general and even conservation groups. Although 2BT was often portrayed as questionable, its roots were solid, writes Rachel Plotkin. Image courtesy of Pexels

Indigenous consent isn’t a veto: it’s how durable, co-governed projects get built

  • If our governments recognized the synergies between these objectives, it would secure a leadership spot for Canada on the international stage. Canadians from all
Opinion | BY TIM GRAY, EMILY MCMILLAN, RACHEL PLOTKIN, JESSICA CLOGG | September 11, 2025
Mark Carney
Mark Carney
The letter written earlier this summer by Alberta and Ontario ministers asking Prime Minister Mark Carney, pictured, to 'refrain from reintroducing' an act is a grossly regressive assault on human rights and, write Jessica Clogg,G Tim Gray, Emily McMillan, and Rachel Plotkin. The Hill Times photograph by Sam Garcia

Indigenous consent isn’t a veto: it’s how durable, co-governed projects get built

Opinion | BY TIM GRAY, EMILY MCMILLAN, RACHEL PLOTKIN, JESSICA CLOGG | September 11, 2025
  • If our governments recognized the synergies between these objectives, it would secure a leadership spot for Canada on the international stage. Canadians from all

Indigenous consent isn’t a veto: it’s how durable, co-governed projects get built

Opinion | BY TIM GRAY, EMILY MCMILLAN, RACHEL PLOTKIN, JESSICA CLOGG | September 11, 2025
  • If our governments recognized the synergies between these objectives, it would secure a leadership spot for Canada on the international stage. Canadians from all
Mark Carney
The letter written earlier this summer by Alberta and Ontario ministers asking Prime Minister Mark Carney, pictured, to 'refrain from reintroducing' an act is a grossly regressive assault on human rights and, write Jessica Clogg,G Tim Gray, Emily McMillan, and Rachel Plotkin. The Hill Times photograph by Sam Garcia

Forest management is the quiet crisis behind today’s news

  • Forests are more than just wood. They are complex ecosystems. They are sources of life. They are home to thousands of species. They provide
Opinion | BY RACHEL PLOTKIN, JULEE BOAN | July 28, 2025
A wildfire burns through a Canadian boreal forest in 2016. A new study has found that wildfire carbon emissions in the world’s boreal forests have almost tripled since 2001. Photograph courtesy of Stefan Doerr

Forest management is the quiet crisis behind today’s news

Opinion | BY RACHEL PLOTKIN, JULEE BOAN | July 28, 2025
  • Forests are more than just wood. They are complex ecosystems. They are sources of life. They are home to thousands of species. They provide

Forest management is the quiet crisis behind today’s news

Opinion | BY RACHEL PLOTKIN, JULEE BOAN | July 28, 2025
  • Forests are more than just wood. They are complex ecosystems. They are sources of life. They are home to thousands of species. They provide
A wildfire burns through a Canadian boreal forest in 2016. A new study has found that wildfire carbon emissions in the world’s boreal forests have almost tripled since 2001. Photograph courtesy of Stefan Doerr

Canada must not join the deregulation race to the bottom

  • Long-term forestry-based employment can only be sustained if forests are managed to ensure their continued ecological integrity.
Opinion | BY RACHEL PLOTKIN, JULEE BOAN, MICHAEL POLANYI | April 30, 2025
Trees
Trees
Canada must recognize that forest degradation is occurring and move to redress it, write Rachel Plotkin, Julee Boan, and Michael Polanyi. Photograph courtesy of Pexels/Felix Mittermeier

Canada must not join the deregulation race to the bottom

Opinion | BY RACHEL PLOTKIN, JULEE BOAN, MICHAEL POLANYI | April 30, 2025
  • Long-term forestry-based employment can only be sustained if forests are managed to ensure their continued ecological integrity.

Canada must not join the deregulation race to the bottom

Opinion | BY RACHEL PLOTKIN, JULEE BOAN, MICHAEL POLANYI | April 30, 2025
  • Long-term forestry-based employment can only be sustained if forests are managed to ensure their continued ecological integrity.
Trees
Canada must recognize that forest degradation is occurring and move to redress it, write Rachel Plotkin, Julee Boan, and Michael Polanyi. Photograph courtesy of Pexels/Felix Mittermeier

Will logging more in healthy forests reduce wildfire risk?

  • Expanding industrial logging into remaining unlogged forests is not the solution; more broad forest management is.
Opinion | BY RACHEL PLOTKIN, JULEE BOAN | July 31, 2024
The wildfires pictured on July 24, 2024, in Williams Lake, B.C. Tom Cameron, who sent this photo to The Hill Times, said the fire was about 500 metres from his home. 'One minute we were sitting down to dinner and the next we were throwing our go bags and family albums in the trucks getting ready to flee. Scary stuff.' The Hill Times photograph courtesy of Tom Cameron

Will logging more in healthy forests reduce wildfire risk?

Opinion | BY RACHEL PLOTKIN, JULEE BOAN | July 31, 2024
  • Expanding industrial logging into remaining unlogged forests is not the solution; more broad forest management is.

Will logging more in healthy forests reduce wildfire risk?

Opinion | BY RACHEL PLOTKIN, JULEE BOAN | July 31, 2024
  • Expanding industrial logging into remaining unlogged forests is not the solution; more broad forest management is.
The wildfires pictured on July 24, 2024, in Williams Lake, B.C. Tom Cameron, who sent this photo to The Hill Times, said the fire was about 500 metres from his home. 'One minute we were sitting down to dinner and the next we were throwing our go bags and family albums in the trucks getting ready to flee. Scary stuff.' The Hill Times photograph courtesy of Tom Cameron

Wild species’ survival should shape National Biodiversity Strategy

  • Despite ongoing conservation efforts across the country, biodiversity continues to decline, and the number of species at risk of extinction continues to grow.
Opinion | BY DAN KRAUS, JAMES PAGé, RACHEL PLOTKIN, LIAT PODOLSKY | March 28, 2024
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault. In Montreal in 2022, Canada committed to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030. The federal government is developing a National Biodiversity Strategy, due later this year, to outline how this commitment can be achieved. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Wild species’ survival should shape National Biodiversity Strategy

Opinion | BY DAN KRAUS, JAMES PAGé, RACHEL PLOTKIN, LIAT PODOLSKY | March 28, 2024
  • Despite ongoing conservation efforts across the country, biodiversity continues to decline, and the number of species at risk of extinction continues to grow.

Wild species’ survival should shape National Biodiversity Strategy

Opinion | BY DAN KRAUS, JAMES PAGé, RACHEL PLOTKIN, LIAT PODOLSKY | March 28, 2024
  • Despite ongoing conservation efforts across the country, biodiversity continues to decline, and the number of species at risk of extinction continues to grow.
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault. In Montreal in 2022, Canada committed to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030. The federal government is developing a National Biodiversity Strategy, due later this year, to outline how this commitment can be achieved. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Canada must commit to action for caribou, or risk losing them

  • Here we are well into the new year, but for caribou in Canada, the question is an old one: will it bring any new
Opinion | BY RACHEL PLOTKIN | March 13, 2019
Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna can recommend protective measures under the Species at Risk Act if provinces are failing to protect caribou habitats. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Canada must commit to action for caribou, or risk losing them

Opinion | BY RACHEL PLOTKIN | March 13, 2019
  • Here we are well into the new year, but for caribou in Canada, the question is an old one: will it bring any new

Canada must commit to action for caribou, or risk losing them

Opinion | BY RACHEL PLOTKIN | March 13, 2019
  • Here we are well into the new year, but for caribou in Canada, the question is an old one: will it bring any new
Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna can recommend protective measures under the Species at Risk Act if provinces are failing to protect caribou habitats. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
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