Ottawa Insider

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

Canada's National Observer is a proud participant of the Local Journalism Initiative, which supports the creation of original civic journalism that covers the diverse needs of underserved communities across Canada.

808 Articles

Tory MP says Liberals ‘failed’ to comply with motion on Huawei, foreign interference

Conservative MP and shadow foreign affairs critic Michael Chong said the Liberal government has “failed” to comply with a motion regarding Canada’s relationship with China adopted by the House of Commons last Friday.

Yasmine Ghania

December 22nd 2020

5 environment-focused bills making their way through Parliament

Several MPs are currently sponsoring bills meant to hold the government to account on its climate commitments.

Carl Meyer

December 22nd 2020

Boaters defying whale protections got warnings, not fines

Transport Canada confirms it has issued 159 written warnings and logged 51 verbal warnings as of this month, and that those represented the entirety of the enforcement actions it took so far this year, pending some cases still “under review.”

Carl Meyer

December 21st 2020

Health Canada to study impact of online food ads on children

Health Canada says the main focus will be on social media “because it is a significant source of children’s exposure to food marketing … in particular on social media platforms such as YouTube and Instagram.”

Yasmine Ghania

December 18th 2020

Automakers see juiced EV sales from closer North American co-operation

Union says cutting tailpipe emissions is worthy, but effort must include strategy that is fair to Canadian workers

Carl Meyer

December 18th 2020

Hydrogen firm hopes federal strategy will raise technology’s profile

Hydrogen is being touted as a path to lower carbon pollution, but dozens of environmental groups are concerned Canada's new strategy relies too much on the fossil fuel industry.

Carl Meyer

December 17th 2020

Senators wrestle with scope, constitutionality of assisted dying bill

The controversial Bill C-7 would expand the number of people who can access medical assistance in dying — an amendment opposed by many Conservative MPs in the House of Commons last week.

Yasmine Ghania

December 16th 2020

Help developing nations avoid fossil fuel 'lock-in,' study urges

There will only be a “relatively modest impact” on global temperature rise if less developed countries don’t cut their emissions for now — compared to much greater consequences if developed countries delay their own decarbonization, scientists have found.

Race Against Climate Change

Carl Meyer

December 16th 2020

Trudeau goes it alone with new climate plan, proposes carbon price hike

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s new climate plan proposes growing the carbon price and injecting $15 billion worth of initiatives into the economy. His government is hoping these efforts will result in steeper cuts to Canada’s carbon pollution that go beyond current measures.

Race Against Climate Change

Carl Meyer

December 11th 2020

Canada's new climate plan will look like an 'industrial policy,' Wilkinson says

The environment and climate change minister's remarks come after former UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon urged Canada to “demonstrate greater leadership in the collective effort to tackle climate change.”

Carl Meyer

December 11th 2020

Greens slam 'Scrooge-like' CRA as many Canadians told to pay back CERB

Many Canadians have been left stunned or in tears after being told by the Canada Revenue Agency that they might need to pay back all the money they got from the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB).

Coronavirus in Canada

Carl Meyer

December 10th 2020

Budget officer provokes fresh round of suspicion over Trans Mountain profitability

The Dec. 8 report by Yves Giroux concludes that the government’s decision in 2018 to purchase and run the pipeline remains a profitable move only if Ottawa doesn’t take further steps to combat climate change, and if the planet maintains its unquenchable thirst for oil.

Trans Mountain

Carl Meyer

December 9th 2020

Liberal MP casts doubt on material behind government’s fish farms decision

Ken Hardie, who represents the British Columbia riding of Fleetwood-Port Kells, raised several questions during a parliamentary committee meeting about the assessments studied by the department to arrive at its conclusion that open-net pen fish farms pose little risk to wild salmon.

Carl Meyer

December 8th 2020

Denmark’s ‘oil and gas valves will be turned off for good’

Denmark, the largest oil producer in the European Union, has committed to ending fossil fuel extraction and ensuring the continued employment of its affected workers.

Carl Meyer

December 7th 2020

Costs of climate change are soaring in Canada, yet still barely understood: report

What is already known is stunning: the average cost per weather-related disaster has soared by 1,250 per cent since the 1970s, and the number of catastrophic events has more than tripled since the 1980s.

Carl Meyer

December 3rd 2020