I uncovered what no other news outlet dug up on TMX

Every week, Parliament Hill is awash in funding announcements, new reports, high-stakes policy decisions, legislation reviews, political catfights and countless committee meetings.

The lightning-quick news cycle makes it all too easy to miss the important details buried in this onslaught of information that will dictate Canada’s success — or failure — in tackling greenhouse gas emissions, most of which come from our oil and gas industries. At Canada’s National Observer, we examine everything from policy to political theatre through the lens of climate change: privileging science over partisan politics and false balance. Federal politics receive a lot of attention from news organizations but few offer the Observer’s consistent, in-depth climate analysis.

If you believe in the work I do for CNO to hold Canada’s decision-makers in check, the best way you can support my vital reporting is by donating to our spring campaign to raise $100,000.

While the current government is doing more to address climate change than any before it, we work every day to hold Ottawa’s feet to the fire and unearth information some politicians want to stay buried.

• Months of poring over access-to-information requests, examining balance sheets and researching the troubled finances of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project (TMX) allowed John Woodside and I to report in-depth on this taxpayer-owned carbon-bomb like no other news outlet.
• For every basic question Finance Canada has refused to answer about the tens of billions of public funds propping up TMX, I’ve filed access-to-information requests, called up experts and found other channels to get information.
• Last summer, I uncovered what no other news outlet was able to: that the secret financial reports Finance Canada is using to justify pumping more of your dollars into TMX assumes it will operate for a ludicrous 100 years. It is essential for the public to know what information our government bases its decisions on, seriously question Finance Canada’s claim that TMX is still commercially viable, and understand why the department refused to share those reports.

So long as the federal government refuses to be transparent with Canadians about how it spends our money, I will be here talking to insiders, combing through documents and bringing you the answers you deserve.

The news cycle moves at lightning speed and I will always strive to keep up by bringing you timely analysis of the climate stories that shape our future. But that will never come at the expense of the slow, document-intensive grinds that laid the groundwork for my in-depth reporting on issues like TMX.

You deserve an accountable government. When you donate to Canada’s National Observer, you allow us to dig deeper and bring to light the answers we are all owed.

I know there are many more stories waiting to be told. Your support would help me and my colleagues deliver more news you can’t get anywhere else.

Thank you,

Natasha