Ottawa Insider

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

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818 Articles

aerial view of a logging area in the winter

B.C.’s precious old-growth giants are still being logged and burned to make electricity

Two new reports find B.C.’s old-growth forests are still on the chopping block despite claims to the contrary by the provincial government and a U.K.-based corporation.

Natasha Bulowski

March 13th 2024

Alberta's minister of affordability and utilities sits ona white couch at a nuclear conference in Ottawa on March 1, 2024

Strict new rules on renewables could cost Alberta billions

Alberta’s new restrictions on renewable energy development could prohibit billions of investments in proposed wind and solar projects, according to a new analysis from an Alberta-based think tank.

Natasha Bulowski

March 11th 2024

Something fishy? Calls to investigate Alberta coal mine

Environmental groups want the federal government to investigate construction on an Alberta coal mine expansion for potentially violating federal law that protects endangered fish and their habitat.

Canada's Coal Connection

Natasha Bulowski

March 7th 2024

ACFN Chief Allan adam stands, gesturing emphatically with his hand while speaking at a press conference in Ottawa last year

First Nation sues the Alberta Energy Regulator over oilsands tailings leak

The Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation has served the Alberta Energy Regulator’s president with a notice of a lawsuit.

Natasha Bulowski

March 6th 2024

Indigenous organization levels complaint against Canadian mining company

As the world’s largest mining conference unfolds in Toronto, a Canadian company is facing a complaint about a proposed copper mine in Ecuador.

Natasha Bulowski

March 5th 2024

Trade deal could put corporate profits over people, say groups

As Canada and Ecuador prepare to negotiate a free trade deal, environmental and human rights organizations from both countries speak out against the likely inclusion of investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms.

Natasha Bulowski

March 4th 2024

Ottawa puts chips down on nuclear

Federal Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathon Wilkinson reaffirmed his government’s support for the nuclear industry with a $50-million investment to expand nuclear power generation in Ontario.

February 29th 2024

Canada’s pension funds must pick up the pace on climate

Despite progress to improve climate policies, some of Canada’s largest pension funds are still moving too slowly and betting unwisely against the energy transition, a new report indicates.

Natasha Bulowski

February 27th 2024

Push grows to turn the sustainable jobs act into law

Twelve labour and environmental groups are urging federal politicians to get the sustainable jobs act back on the House of Commons agenda so the long-awaited legislation can become law.

Natasha Bulowski

February 26th 2024

striking picture of a coal mine in B.C.'s Elk Valley

Plans for new coal mine show the need for water pollution probe

A new coal mine proposed in B.C.’s Elk River Valley highlights the need for a long-overdue cross-border investigation into water quality and an end to coal mining in the region, some environmental groups argue.

Canada's Coal Connection

Natasha Bulowski

February 23rd 2024

We need to better understand hydrogen pros and pitfalls

Hydrogen production is touted by the Canadian government and others around the world as a clean alternative to fossil fuel use, but climate-impact assessments are vulnerable to miscalculations, according to new research by the Environmental Defense Fund.

Natasha Bulowski

February 21st 2024

Feds tweak energy regulations for provincial flexibility

Most of the possible changes respond to concerns raised by provincial governments and industry during the six-month consultation period on the draft regulations published in August 2023.

Natasha Bulowski

February 16th 2024

A group of people gathered at Whiteshell Laboratories in Manitoba in 1979

Waste headed for Ontario site is a radioactive ‘mishmash’: nuclear industry veterans

Approval of a nuclear waste disposal site near the Ottawa River hinged on a promise that only low-level radioactive waste would be accepted.

Natasha Bulowski

February 13th 2024

Bill seeks crackdown on fossil fuel ads

A new private member’s bill is taking aim at fossil fuel companies using the same tactics that forced Big Tobacco to stop advertising.

Natasha Bulowski

February 7th 2024

view of Chalk River Labs from a boat in the Ottawa River

‘All we can do is hope for the best’: Concerns persist about radioactive waste disposal site

Canadian Nuclear Laboratories got the go-ahead from Canada's nuclear regulator to build a disposal facility for one million cubic metres of waste but the licensing process has been fraught with concerns and interventions from former employees and concerned scientists and citizens.

Natasha Bulowski

February 6th 2024