From oil sands to wildfires: Why we need independent journalism now

"Media has saved lives," Dr. John O'Connor, a physician working in Fort McMurray, told me during an interview I did with him in 2014, the year before I, and some colleagues, launched Canada's National Observer.

Dr. O'Connor's words have stayed with me over the last decade as I've guided CNO to cover the energy industry, public health and climate change. They've guided my thinking on how closely climate change and public health are linked. Dr. O'Connor had seen an alarming pattern of rare cancers in communities downstream from the oil sands, but the Province of Alberta at the time refused to conduct detailed health studies, preferring industry self-regulation.

"That's the fox guarding the henhouse," he said. When one of his patients, a Syncrude executive in her early forties, died from a rare cancer, he alerted me and we were there to tell her story.

But I knew how many other stories were going untold. Stories about environmental degradation, about the too-cozy relationship between governments and corporations, and the rising threat of climate change. Stories about how ordinary people are managing in difficult times. The need to tell those stories was the driving force for me behind the launch of Canada's National Observer in 2015. It is the driving force behind sustaining it in 2025.

Today, as I write this, I'm feeling gutted, watching the news and texting with friends in LA forced to flee ferocious wildfires. You may be doing the same. The sickening feeling I'm experiencing comes from knowing that climate change has erased all safe havens—no community is immune, no season is predictable, and no infrastructure was built for this level of devastation.

With 100,000 people evacuated, firefighters overwhelmed, water running out, and entire neighbourhoods reduced to ash, this catastrophe shows exactly why we need journalism that connects the dots between climate change and its devastating human toll.

And there's more.

Foreign interference in our politics has moved from subtle influence to open threats. Meanwhile, social media platforms have become conduits for unchecked disinformation, making trustworthy journalism more essential than ever. This is why CNO's role as an independent voice is crucial—we answer only to our readers, not to corporate interests or political pressure.

This is why your support of independent climate journalism is so crucial, and why I'm deeply moved by the outpouring of support we've already received from our subscribers. Each time we consider another campaign, I think about how much we've already asked of you, how generously you've responded, and how much you've made possible at CNO. From my perspective as publisher, CNO isn't only the team you see on our team page. CNO is a growing community of remarkably engaged and concerned Canadians.

Your commitment has created real impact. Together, over the last ten years since I founded CNO, we have established a powerful news platform that continues to have a major impact on our country. In 2024 alone, your support helped us publish over 500 investigative stories, reaching more than 2 million readers and driving real change in environmental policy and corporate accountability.

Now we face a critical moment. With our deadline of Saturday, January 11th, fast approaching, we are only $6,000 short of our $150,000 goal. This funding is critical to our operations. That $6,000 means the difference between maintaining our current investigative capacity and having to scale back. It will directly support journalist jobs, enable us to pursue complex stories, and ensure we have resources for potential legal challenges.

The response to this campaign has been extraordinary. In the past week alone, 200 readers like you have stepped forward with contributions. Each gift moves us closer to our goal and strengthens our ability to serve as your independent voice in 2025.

Ten years ago, Dr. O'Connor told me that media saves lives. Today, as climate disasters intensify and communities face unprecedented threats, those words ring truer than ever. Your contribution will help us continue investigating the stories that affect public health and safety—stories that could save lives. We're just $6,000 away from ensuring CNO can continue this vital work in 2025.