John Woodside
Senior Ottawa Reporter | Ottawa |
English
About John Woodside
John Woodside was named one of Canada Clean50's emerging leaders in 2023 for his outstanding reporting on the climate and related issues. Focusing on finance, lobbying, energy policy and the climate emergency from Ottawa, Woodside brings a depth of experience to Canada's National Observer. Before joining Canada's National Observer, John reported on energy for allNewBrunswick and allNewfoundlandLabrador, and focused on Muskrat Falls, nuclear power, and the Irving group of companies.He has also worked with Cited Media and with the foreign policy news outlet OpenCanada. He graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Masters in Journalism.
NDP slams Liberals in climate protection retreat
Days after Ottawa proposed weakening the Impact Assessment Act, NDP environment and climate change critic Laurel Collins is warning abandoning greenhouse gas emissions from federal reviews of major projects is a dereliction of responsibility.
Canada’s oil and gas emissions continue to rise
New data shows Canada's greenhouse gas emissions are creeping up but still remain below pre-pandemic levels. But with oil and gas production pushing the sector's emissions higher, all eyes are on Ottawa's long-awaited, and now delayed, emissions cap policy.
Why won’t Freeland rule out fossil fuels in clean investment definitions?
Finance Canada is undermining sustainable investment with a multi-year effort to include fossil fuels in guidelines intended to help capital flow to clean alternatives, climate and finance experts say.
Ottawa weakens impact assessment law to dodge court battles
Tuesday’s proposed amendments are designed to insulate Ottawa from potential court challenges over its authority to regulate major projects in provincial jurisdiction, but environmentalists fear the feds are retreating from their responsibility to fight climate change.
Plastics industry treats Indigenous lands as ‘sacrifice zones’
Representatives from the Aamjiwnaang First Nation say they are bearing the brunt of environmental racism in Chemical Valley, and are in Ottawa to push world governments to give Indigenous nations a seat at the table as negotiations for a global plastics treaty unfold.
Powering Up: Inside Ottawa’s plan to build the clean power grids of the future
Clean electricity is the backbone of the energy transition, but building the power grids needed will be a monumental task. Natural Resources and Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson sits down with Canada's National Observer to discuss forging the path ahead.
The grand global challenge to rein in plastic pollution
Representatives from around the world are in Ottawa to negotiate a legally binding treaty to eliminate plastic pollution by 2040. But after a previous meeting went off the rails, pressure is now on delegates to make up for lost time in what promises to be one of the most important environmental weeks of the year.
It was a fossil fuel lobbyist frenzy in lead-up to federal budget
In the months before the federal budget was released, scores of meetings were recorded between fossil fuel industry representatives and the federal government. With a key ask from climate advocates ignored, who is Finance Canada listening to?
RBC grilled over climate, fossil fuel loans and Indigenous rights at AGM
Indigenous leaders, climate activists and their allies from across the continent descended on Toronto on Thursday in an attempt to hold RBC leadership accountable for the bank’s decision to finance increased oil and gas expansion at the expense of local communities.
Alleged human rights abuses detailed in new complaint against Canadian oil company
Alleged environmental pollution, human rights violations and attempts to silence critics are detailed in a new complaint filed with a federal corporate watchdog against Canadian fossil fuel company ReconAfrica.