Good morning!
The federal government’s fossil fuel subsidies are over (sort of). Canada has one less source for climate news. And Toronto’s conservation authority is expanding a trail that will one day become one of Canada's largest urban parks.
As we head into another week of sweltering hot weather, staying hopeful about the climate crisis feels tough. I’ve been thinking this week about what has helped me hang onto the right kind of climate optimism through what’s shaping up to be Earth’s hottest month on record, and more than anything, it’s hearing stories that remind me of all the good that is happening, even when the bad seems to be splashed all over the headlines.
Those can be true stories, like the recent rise of heat pumps in Canadian homes or the purchase a new fleet of electric buses for B.C. They can also be fiction that stretches the imagination, like Tomorrow’s Parties, a collection of short stories that paint a picture of what our future world might look like.
This week, I thought I’d crowdsource some of your favourite stories, too — fact or fiction. What keeps you hopeful when the climate crisis gets you down?
Let me know at [email protected], and I’ll add it to a reading list that I can share in next weekend’s newsletter to buoy us all in the middle of a difficult season.
Until then, check out some of the great work my teammates have done this week below.
Have a great weekend and stay safe!
— Dana Filek-Gibson
Looking for more CNO reads? You can find them at the bottom of this email.
More CNO reads
Are landlords “greenwashing” their rent hikes? Tenants of two Toronto apartment buildings are protesting above-average rent increases as their landlord makes climate-friendly renovations, Abdul Matin Sarfraz reports.
TMX tolls won’t cover its costs. That’s even with a proposed hike that would make oil shippers pay a premium to use the pipeline, Natasha Bulowski reports. Meanwhile, a nearby city council vows to speak out against the project “every chance that we get.”
A powerful pack of Indigenous paddlers pushes off. A hundred canoes are travelling along the Pacific Northwest coast this week on an annual journey to revitalize their cultures and strengthen future generations, Rochelle Baker reports.
Justin Trudeau makes his last stand. With his party trailing the Conservatives, the prime minister needs to do something drastic, columnist Max Fawcett writes. Enter this week’s cabinet shuffle.
Death by a thousand ships. The Haida Nation fears that could be its fate if a liquefied natural gas boom on the West Coast takes off, John Woodside reports.
“Families are still picking through the rubble to see if they can recover anything.” NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh visited two communities in the Northwest Territories this week to highlight the cost of Canada’s worst wildfire season on record, Matteo Cimellaro reports.
Canadian banks funded oil and gas drilling in the Amazon. RBC, Scotiabank and CIBC each gave money to Canadian-headquartered companies looking for fossil fuels in the world’s biggest tropical rainforest, John Woodside reports.