Arno Kopecky
@arnokopecky.bsky.social
Writer at large (but mostly Vancouver). Environment, culture, politics... All too earnest.
A heartening counterpoint to their maddening editorial last week (lamenting how summers are getting smokier without noting why)
John Vaillant@johnvaillant.bsky.social · 14h agoWay to go, @theglobeandmail.com and Jeff Jones! Really solid reporting on BC's #wildfires, their causes and remedies. #oilandgas #cdnpoli www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...
“Fire is, at its core, an ambitious energy-burning appetite. But so are we.” A bracing call to arms from @johnvaillant.bsky.social, as Canada’s wildfire season goes ballistic. time.com/article/2026...
What Happens When the World is on Fire
"From America to Algeria, dangerous blazes are occurring around the world, giving us a glimpse into an age ablaze," writes John Valliant.
time.com
Talking to my Summerland friends this morning, who had to run with a few minutes notice last night. The news is on your screen until it’s at your door, these days. www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...
More than 20,000 residents evacuate as Okanagan fire explodes in size
Evacuation orders cover the entire community of Summerland, home to 12,000, while a further 8,000 around Peachland were told to flee
theglobeandmail.com
Give us proportional representation and we'll check out that hypothesis.
Arno Kopecky@arnokopecky.bsky.social · 5d agoNothing like a wildfire emergency to put a nation's climate policies into perspective. But as our leaders push to increase oil and gas production, a new inconvenient truth is emerging: this seems to be...what Canadians want? My latest for @thewalrus.ca thewalrus.ca/carney-endor...
If anyone wants to know what it's reeeeaaallly like to work with this monster, give me a call. Or you know, hit him up directly cuz it's great. As is the whole team. @jameswsthomson.com
Jimmy Thomson@jameswsthomson.com · 3d agoThis is the most literal of the "come work with me!" posts — this job would work directly with me to help elevate the writing and packaging of our reporting, and to develop the talent within @nationalobserver.com. Reach out if you have questions and please share!
Happy 1st birthday to the Cowichan decision. My story about the longest trial in Canadian history, and the year of mass hysteria that followed, is out in print. (Yes it's long! But not quite 150-years-of-fighting-for-your-land-back long.) macleans.ca/longforms/ri...
A Judge Recognized Aboriginal Title on Private Property. Panic Ensued. - Macleans.ca
How the Cowichan court battle is putting the real meaning of reconciliation to the test
macleans.ca
Avi Lewis remains the only politician of any stature in Canada who's stated this obvious, essential fact.
Eric Doherty@ericdoherty.bsky.social · 3d ago“ #Wildfires are getting more and more devastating because they’re being turbocharged by global warming. Global warming is being caused primarily by the burning of fossil fuels.” @avilewis.ca #NDP Leader @arnokopecky.bsky.social in @thewalrus.ca thewalrus.ca/carney-endor... #cdnpoli
Nothing like a wildfire emergency to put a nation's climate policies into perspective. But as our leaders push to increase oil and gas production, a new inconvenient truth is emerging: this seems to be...what Canadians want? My latest for @thewalrus.ca thewalrus.ca/carney-endor...
Carney Endorses Pipeline Expansion as Wildfires Rage Across Canada | The Walrus
He’s even considering overriding species protection laws to move quickly on big projects
thewalrus.ca
"When something that feels extraordinary happens, people are inclined to look for extraordinary explanations." As BC burns, @michellecyca.com's latest connects some very wild dots. (whatever you do, stay outta Onejebio!) thenarwhal.ca/wildfire-mis...
With AI slop, wildfire misinformation is mutating online | The Narwhal
How conspiracy theories, misinformation and AI-generated images anchored by social media engagement are playing out during Canada’s 2026 wildfires
thenarwhal.ca
"The separatist movement is a bit like Mr. Kenney’s big blue truck: a powerful machine, but he didn’t know how to handle it." Been waiting for someone to say this the way @daniparadis.bsky.social just did. www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
Opinion: Jason Kenney is trying to stop the separatists. But he deserves some blame for their rise in the first place
As premier, he gave vent to some of the grievances that now animate the movement
theglobeandmail.com
tho they did find room for a "new normal"
Michelle Cyca@michellecyca.com · 6d agothis editorial manages to avoid the phrase "climate change" entirely
"Kodak’s board never voted to lose. It voted, again and again, to protect the business it understood, using numbers that were accurate every single quarter until they weren’t." Best case I've read yet for investing in a national grid, rather than a pipeline. calgaryherald.com/opinion/colu...
Opinion: Is the energy transition Canada’s Kodak moment?
Billions being spent on a globally decreasing product but governments failing to acknowledge that and plan better for the future.
calgaryherald.com
"Everyone wants to talk about wildfires in July and August, and then it starts raining in October, and we all conveniently forget..." Great interview with Jesse Winter — made me think of climate disasters in the same way I think of mass shootings. And opioid harm reduction.
The Walrus@thewalrus.ca · last wk.Over 3 million hectares of land have burned—but Canada’s wildfire season isn’t over yet. In this new Q&A, Jesse Winter—author of Wild Fire: Dispatches from a Country Ablaze—speaks to The Walrus’s Samia Madwar about what’s driving our wildfire crisis: https://ow.ly/Xnwb50ZvFEj
Others can correct me, but is this not exactly what a Trickster is? powerful but bumbling, transparently self-interested, as often tricked as tricking, inherently foolish and endlessly ambitious?
The jackals at Juno News are celebrating a talented journalist being laid off. Must be nice to never have to do layoffs because you can just invent reporters and pretend you hired them instead, eh Keean?
Cue the thundering silence from the same groups who express outrage when a First Nation closes a park for a few days. thenarwhal.ca/bc-carmanah-...
Logging company closes access to B.C. provincial park | The Narwhal
Many B.C. parks are accessible only by resource roads controlled by private companies. The Carmanah Walbran closure raises questions about access to public land
thenarwhal.ca
the (seemingly) genuine befuddlement of American pols and their dear leader over the increase in wildfires in the past decade -- "I don't remember ever happening before!" -- is really something.
Forestry experts can correct me on this, but—wildfires in the boreal really seem like the truest expression of a changing climate. Further south, a century of fire suppression & monoculture plantations have contributed to flammability. But the northern boreal is untouched. Only one factor in play.
Wildfire smoke war! The US is retaliating by sending smoke from fires in Oregon and Washington State into Canada. What do they say about smoke and borders? GOES-West geocolor loop below.
Trump has attacked Canada over the wildfire smoke, upstaging even his dumbest members of congress. My column:
Donald Trump can spare Canada the lecture on climate disasters
The US president and members of congress lashed out at Canada over the smoke pouring across the border this week. They should look in the mirror.
nationalobserver.com
The backlash to Cowichan has included calls to amend the Constitution. It was Robert who first pointed out to me that Canada's tried this before: in 1927, we banned "Indians" from hiring a lawyer, partly in response to the Cowichan's land claim. That's how long they've been at this.
Robert Hamilton@roberthamilton.bsky.social · 3w agoGreat piece on the Cowichan title litigation by @arnokopecky.bsky.social Arno does an excellent job of telling some of the stories behind the litigation. macleans.ca/longforms/ri...
How to express the character of a man who represents FN's in court and brandishes that career as proof of his character, while stealing millions from the *children's* trust he put himself in charge of? And as a side note: nobody's doing more to destroy AB's separatist movement than First Nations.
Courtney Theriault@ctheriault.bsky.social · 4w agoMore allegations vs Rath 'Sturgeon Lake CN has now raised concerns about $12M in withdrawals from the SLCN Trust, including more than $11M paid to Rath & Company as administrative fees and another $575k tied to legal expenses, according to an affidavit...' globalnews.ca/news/1196773...
I hate to say this but Canada could stop emitting entirely and this would still happen. our emissions are like 1-2% of global total. That is in no way an argument to give up on climate policy. but let’s not make false promises.
Big DeVito Energy 🎂Aug. 11🎂@mayawest.online · 4w agogenuinely it looks like this because Doug Ford slashed millions from our wildfire budget and then Carney abandoned climate programs this is Canada's fault and international pressure might help. like a lot.
Important overview on massive infrastructure & impacts on ecosystems & species to expect at the mouth of the Fraser River & the Salish Sea if another oil pipeline bringing more oil tankers would go ahead. Thank you @arnokopecky.bsky.social #bcpoli #cdnpoli www.nationalobserver.com/2026/07/13/n...
The mouth of a BC river could be ground zero for Carney's biggest environmental fight yet
Canada’s mightiest salmon river, the Fraser in BC, is already fighting for survival. Now, here come the oil tankers.
nationalobserver.com
