Ecology/Environment

19/06/18
Author: 
Elizabeth McSheffrey
Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna speaks with reporters at the G7 summit in Charlevoix, Que. on June 8, 2018. Photo by Alex Tétreault

The federal government should publish its full review of fossil fuel subsidies as it works toward phasing them out, says an Ottawa-based corporate watchdog.

Environment and Climate Change Canada is currently poring over all federal non-tax measures that support the oil and gas industry, as it prepares to deliver on a climate-friendly G20 promise to eliminate the "inefficient" ones by 2025.

13/06/18
Author: 
Mike De Souza
A group of kayaktivists gather before heading to a construction barge in Vancouver harbour near Kinder Morgan's Westridge Marine Terminal on Oct. 28, 2017. File photo by Zack Embree

Kinder Morgan put fish, porpoises, sea lions and other marine life in danger during recent construction work near an oil terminal in Vancouver, says a leaked federal letter that warns the company could face prosecution for its violations.

The letter from the federal Fisheries and Oceans Department (DFO) notes that the company also went months without filing mandatory monitoring reports to the government and First Nations before federal officials noticed the Texas company was breaking the rules.

13/05/18
Author: 
Kevin Taft
Photograph by Andrew S. Wright for National Observer of Alberta oilsands tailings ponds May 2014

A primary lesson in political communications is that there is room in the public mind for only one big political news story at a time, and whoever drives that one big story wins twice: their story sets the headlines, and stories they don’t like are pushed to the margins.

07/05/18
Author: 
Janice Dickson
Inuk elders join Muskrat Falls megadam opponents for a rally and civil disobedience on Parliament Hill on Monday, May 7, 2018.Sean Kilpatrick / THE CANADIAN PRESS

May 7, 2018

OTTAWA -- A number of Indigenous elders and demonstrators were arrested for trespassing Monday on Parliament Hill after breaching a designated perimeter for protests during a rally against the Muskrat Falls project in Labrador.

"The point we made here today is that it's poisonous; we're drowning," said Jim Learning, an Inuit elder from Cartwright, N.L.

Almost 20 protesters were escorted from outside of Centre Block to the East Block courtyard, where they were held for about 30 minutes.

03/05/18
Author: 
Jim Bronskill

May 3, 2018

The federal government has lost a court bid to overturn a NAFTA ruling involving a Nova Scotia quarry and marine terminal project, sparking renewed concerns about the trade deal’s effects on Canada’s environmental regime.

The U.S. firm that backed the proposed project welcomed the Federal Court of Canada decision, while environmental groups said it highlights how the North American Free Trade Agreement hamstrings Canada’s ability to protect its ecology.

14/04/18
Author: 
Thomas Sisk
The Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain facility in Edmonton on April 6, 2017. JONATHAN HAYWARD / THE CANADIAN PRESS

April 13, 2018

Until now, I have hesitated to criticize the environmental policies of the Trudeau government because of its public commitment to improving transparency, re-establishing the role of science in policymaking, and advancing a pan-Canadian climate plan. But the showdown over Kinder Morgan’s proposed Trans Mountain pipeline has exposed the fact that science has become a casualty of the policymaking process, making resolution of this dispute – and protection of the environment – less likely.

06/04/18
Author: 
Posted by Matti K
Featured image: Indonesia oil spill, April 2018.

Indonesian port city of Balikpapan, on the island of Borneo, declared a state of emergency after pipeline fracture caused devastating oil spill along the coast, killing five fishermen and bringing health problems to hundreds of locals after it ignited.

The oil spill, which occurred over the weekend (March 31 - April 1), has now covered an area of around 18 km2 (7 mi2), contaminating the sea and polluting the air with thick black smoke. One protected dugong has already washed up dead on the shore.

03/04/18
Author: 
Peter Ewart
a wetland with abundant green grasses, broad leaf plants and young tree

March 31, 2018

The images are alarming.  In photo #1 — a wetland with abundant green grasses, broad leaf plants and young trees, an ideal habitat for insects, amphibians, birds, and mammals.  In photo #2 — the same wetland gripped by a grey death after being sprayed from helicopters with the herbicide glyphosate.  Most of the vegetation (except for a few coniferous trees) is now dead and the insects and other animals gone.

01/04/18
Author: 
The Real News
March 31, 2018

In the last 12 years, Marathon Petroleum Corporation, who manage one of the largest petroleum pipeline networks in the U.S., has had 61 incidents, 12 of which have been in Indiana, including recent spill of 42,000 gallons of diesel. In the same week they had to pay fine of $300 thousand for spill last year but Sierra Club's Jodi Perras says that's 'a drop in the bucket' for the company which made a profit of $330 million last year.

25/03/18
Author: 
Ashifa Kassam
pipeline engineer arrested

24 Mar 2018

Two federal MPs among more than 100 people arrested challenging 1,000km line

One of Romilly Cavanaugh’s first jobs was an environmental engineering position at the Trans Mountain Pipeline, which carries crude and refined oil across western Canada.

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