Is Justin Trudeau really a climate criminal?
Justin Trudeau addresses a crowd at the United Nations headquarters in New York City. Photo by UN Women/Ryan Brown (Flickr). During a federal election campaign rally before the September 27…
Canadian Politics, Environment,
The NDP needs to frontline a Green New Deal this election
Photo courtesy the NDP The federal election is emerging as a climate referendum. However, the NDP is marginalized because of its failure to establish a distinct profile by embracing a…
Top 5 Reasons the Green New Deal is Workable, Winnable and the Idea We Need Right Now
This text is an edited excerpt from a speech given by Avi Lewis on the Leap’s “Green New Deal for All” tour in June 2019. 1.The Green New Deal Will…
Trudeau should cut his losses on the Trans Mountain pipeline
Justin Trudeau is in over a barrel. In 2015, he made a deal with Alberta. He would get an oil pipeline built to a coast if the province joined his…
B.C. Green’s anti-worker biases expose the party’s contradictions on climate change
Photo by Arnold Lim After making vague promises in its 2017 election platform to “modernize” provincial labour standards, the British Columbia Green Party recently blocked two important reforms to the…
May warns Ottawa will be forced to pay for oilpatch cleanup costs
Photo by Alex Tétreault Green Leader Elizabeth May is warning that taxpayers across Canada could soon be forced to bail out Alberta’s oilpatch because of a failure to adequately manage…
We’re all getting played by Kinder Morgan
Photo by Vancouver Sun Here’s a different take on Kinder Morgan’s ultimatum and the so-called “constitutional crisis” it has sparked. I’m speculating, of course, as we all seek to understand…
Canada Moving to Exempt Majority of New Oilsands Projects From Federal Assessments
Photo by Eryn Rickard After more than a year of public hearings, the federal government unveiled its new and improved environmental assessment legislation in February 2018 with much ado. But…
Trudeau on the wrong side of environmental history in B.C.
Photo by William Chen And so it begins. In the last few days, approximately 30 Canadian citizens have been arrested for opposing Kinder Morgan’s pipeline extension in British Columbia. The…
Protect the Inlet is really about preventing future generations from enduring climate hell
Photo by Mark Klotz This week, Alberta premier Rachel Notley threatened to cut oil shipments to B.C. if the province interferes with Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. And today,…
Climate warrior? Champion of ‘Big Oil’? Canada’s leader wants to be both
Photo by Women Deliver While President Trump moves to pull America out of the Paris climate accords, Canada’s prime minister describes carbon pollution as one of the globe’s biggest dangers.…
Beyond Petroculture: strategies for a Left energy transition
Photo by Svetoslav Nikolov Five years ago, a group of us at the University of Alberta in Edmonton formed the Petrocultures Research Group to develop a sharper understanding of the…
Rafe Mair to Justin Trudeau: BC is not yours to give away
Photo by Province of British Columbia I’ll not waste too many words on Prime Minister Trudeau’s treachery. Of all the many political sins, surely the greatest of all is hypocrisy…
Ottawa Approves Controversial Chemical for Ocean Oil Spills
Photo by Technical Sergeant Adrian Cadiz The federal government has quietly approved the use of a highly controversial chemical for dispersing ocean oil spills, despite growing scientific evidence it doesn’t…
Surprise, the pundits were wrong: poll shows huge support for Leap Manifesto
Photo by Intel Free Press For weeks, the corporate media has spouted a stern prediction: Canadians will flee in horror from the Leap Manifesto. We are a “modest shift people,”…
Energy East flap shows Quebec is still viewed with contempt by many in the rest of Canada
Image by Council of Canadians I sometimes forget the degree to which a large part of English Canada despises Quebec. This week, the reminder was brutal. Ever since the mayors…
Canada shouldn’t export its oil
Photo by Jason Woodhead It’s good to see Montreal-area mayors oppose the Energy East oil pipeline, because environmental risks such as spills that threaten drinking water are too great and…
Lest We Forget: Tar Sands and War
Photo from Public Domain Lest we forget, the tar sands fuel war and the phrase ‘never again’ requires a deeper look at the historical development of the tar sands. Since…
What Your New Liberal Majority Government Means for the Climate
Photo by Justin Ling Holy smokes. Polls are in and Canadians across the country are expressing surprise at the strong win for the federal Liberal party. While there’s much ink…
Premiers blowing hot air on climate change
Photo by Loozrboy Canada’s premiers agreed to a master energy and climate change plan July 17. It’s specific on fast-tracking pipelines, but “aspirational” on climate action. No wonder. Building more…