Ottawa Insider

Natasha Bulowski reports from Ottawa with a slant on how federal policy is impacting British Columbians.

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808 Articles

Banks, insurance firms to aid feds' climate finance council

The Sustainable Finance Action Council, launched May 12, will draw upon “financial sector leaders” for help in transforming Canadian markets so that they properly measure, price and disclose the risks faced by businesses from the climate crisis.

Carl Meyer

May 13th 2021

Critics, environmentalists dump on Scheer's raw sewage bill

The proposed changes would basically be a return to the laws under the old Fisheries Act, which were ineffective and rarely enforced, said Mark Mattson, environmental lawyer and president of Swim Drink Fish Canada.

Natasha Bulowski

May 12th 2021

Trans Mountain decision draws fire for Indigenous rights ‘double standard’

The Canada Energy Regulator accepted Trans Mountain's allegations without demanding proof. But when it came to Tsleil-Waututh Nation's arguments, the regulator said it was unconvinced.

Trans Mountain

Carl Meyer

May 11th 2021

Canada needs to plug methane pollution from abandoned wells

Annual methane emissions from abandoned oil and gas wells might be underestimated by as much as 150 per cent in Canada and 20 per cent in the U.S., according to a recent study from McGill University.

Natasha Bulowski

May 10th 2021

Tribal nations back Michigan in Line 5 pipeline dispute

The Straits of Mackinac, a “sacred wellspring of Anishinaabe life and culture,” is part of an area ceded to the U.S. in 1836 only upon assurances that the right to hunt, fish and gather would be protected, tribal governments say.

Carl Meyer

May 6th 2021

DFO allowing frozen-at-sea spot prawns — for now

On Tuesday, the government announced fishers will be allowed to freeze prawns at sea for the upcoming season, but offered no guarantees for the future. Fishers say this isn’t enough.

Natasha Bulowski

May 6th 2021

Legal opinion singles out Canada

Governments must take steps to stop their export credit agencies from providing financial help to oil and gas projects worldwide, say a University of Cambridge professor and an environmental law expert barrister.

Carl Meyer

May 5th 2021

Green MP pushes for ban on popular herbicide

A private member's bill banning the use of glyphosate in Canada seeks to open up discussion about the controversial chemical, which is used in herbicides like Roundup.

Natasha Bulowski

May 4th 2021

B.C. kills 237 wolves while court case pending

Pacific Wild, a B.C.-based environmental group, launched a legal petition in July 2020 claiming the province’s wolf cull program is unlawful because it contradicts wildlife regulations and federal aviation laws.

Natasha Bulowski

May 3rd 2021

Trans Mountain wins approval to keep insurers secret

Tsleil-Waututh Nation calls it a "dangerous precedent" that limits its ability to assert its inherent and constitutionally protected rights.

Trans Mountain

Carl Meyer

April 29th 2021

‘Pathetic’: Greens blast Trudeau’s climate commitments

Climate experts and the federal Green Party say Canada’s new commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is severely lacking. "It's a disgrace,” said Green MP Elizabeth May.

Race Against Climate Change

Natasha Bulowski

April 28th 2021

Show science backing hydrogen strategy, Bloc MP asks feds

A forthcoming major UN report will show that nations need to accelerate methane cuts in order to avoid more extreme climate change.

Carl Meyer

April 27th 2021

Trudeau vows steeper pollution cuts at Biden climate summit

Canada’s new greenhouse gas reduction target under the Paris Agreement will be 40 to 45 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030.

Carl Meyer

April 23rd 2021

Cracks found in Health Canada oversight of vitamins, probiotics

Natural health products like vitamin supplements are used widely by Canadians, but a lack of oversight from Health Canada has failed to guarantee the safety and efficacy of these products, a new report reveals.

Natasha Bulowski

April 23rd 2021

Canada's Big Five missing from new net-zero banking alliance

None of Canada’s big five banks were founding signatories of the UN-convened Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) that promised April 21 to align investment portfolios with science-based climate targets starting in 2030.

Carl Meyer

April 22nd 2021