🔥 The dark irony of the day is hard to miss: as #wildfire smoke turns Ontario’s skies orange and Toronto’s air quality ranks among the world’s worst, the #Ontario government on the same day is promoting its #NorthernShield oil pipeline and expanded refining in #Sarnia. Say NO to pipelines!

Ontario Pushes for Northern Shield Pipeline Despite Air Quality Crisis - Environmental Defence

Statement by Emily Hunter, Senior Program Manager, Ontario Climate, Environmental Defence Toronto | Treaty Lands and Territory of the Mississaugas of the

environmentaldefence.ca

From June: For at least the past 10 years, the province has underbudgeted for firefighting, sometimes spending twice what it planned — and firefighters say not allotting adequate funds translates to real impacts on the frontlines.

Ontario budgets just $150M for wildfires despite burning through almost double last year

In 2025’s budget, Ontario allotted $135 million for its Emergency Forest Firefighting fund, but the province ended up spending double that: $271 million, according to this year’s budget. The same docu...

nationalobserver.com

Alberta wants to double its oil production. The companies that would have to do it? Not so much www.nationalobserver.com/2026/07/14/o...

Alberta wants to double its oil production. The companies that would have to do it? Not so much

Danielle Smith wants to double Alberta's oil production in a decade. The math still says that's impossible — and all the MOUs in the world can't change that.

nationalobserver.com

The proposed deep geological repository in northwestern Ontario is getting mixed reactions. Some see it as a potential environmental catastrophe, others see potential economic and infrastructure benefits.

Mixed reactions to proposed geological repository | APTN News

The proposed deep geological repository in northwestern Ontario is getting mixed reactions. Some see it as a potential environmental catastrophe, others see potential economic and infrastructure…

youtu.be

I was glad to speak at the Retrofit Canada Conference in Halifax on behalf of @stand.earth I talked about the importance of policies to decarbonize buildings which represent the third largest source of emissions in Canada 😮 But we can now heat buildings with clean technologies like heat pumps 🦾

Mississauga City Council voted unanimously to endorse the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty 🎉 As I say here, it's an important step in the context of higher levels of government dismantling climate policies and sends a strong message to them to do their parts. thepointer.com/article/2026...

Mississauga joins global Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation movement as Ford pushes legislation gutting green development

Mississauga joins global Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation movement as Ford pushes legislation gutting green development

thepointer.com

What is the Canada Strong Fund supposed to be? Will it invest in transformative projects, even if they are not profitable? Or will it seek to maximize returns by piling into profitable projects that may not meet our needs? My take for @nationalobserver.com: www.nationalobserver.com/2026/04/29/o...

A glorified mutual fund won’t transform the Canadian economy

The backsliding is most obvious on climate. Oil companies can now receive a climate tax credit for pumping more oil using captured carbon.

nationalobserver.com

Doug Ford’s new housing bill gives Enbridge Gas the green light to build more pipelines, connect new homes to its gas system, and import more gas from the United States. Wait, what? Aren’t we supposed to be finding ways to be less dependent on the U.S.? 🧵 #GreenSky

My thoughts: "In the midst of the current reality, in which we are acutely aware that gas prices are volatile and at a time when we want to decrease our dependence on the US, it makes no sense to continue relying on imported American gas for our home heating" www.nationalobserver.com/2026/04/16/n...

Ford’s latest bill collides with cities’ efforts to phase out gas in buildings

New legislation — Bill 98, or the Building Homes and Improving Transportation Infrastructure Act — is snaking its way through the Legislature, and aims to kill green building standards for good, and i...

nationalobserver.com

The Ford government just introduced a new omnibus housing bill that would kill local green building policies which encourage new homes to be efficient, sustainable, and more affordable to operate. We will be pushing back. Watch this space. For now, some info and my perspective:

A new survey commissioned by CUPE Ontario shows broad concern about Ontario’s proposed FOI changes. 88% are concerned about removing independent oversight of access to information. Details: abacusdata.ca/ontarians-o...

No, despite Iran oil shock, Canada still doesn’t need more pipelines www.theglobeandmail.com/business/com...

Opinion: No, despite Iran oil shock, Canada still doesn’t need more pipelines

Energy security is important, yes. Here’s what Canada really needs to do to secure its future

theglobeandmail.com

Widening Middle East war risks triggering the most severe oil price shock since 1979 and could also offer a boost for the transition to clean energy. Read Mitchell Beer's full analysis at The Energy Mix. #war #middleeastwar #oilandgas #energytransition

Middle East War Spotlights Stability of Renewables and Efficiency

Iran attacked oil and gas facilities in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, oil and gas prices rose sharply, Donald Trump said the “hardest hits” were yet to come, and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith made her fore...

theenergymix.com

New poll conducted after the U.S. actions in Venezuela and threats to seize Greenland finds that a majority of Canadians believe made-in-Canada renewable energy is MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER for strengthening Canada’s national security. Learn more: www.sierraclub.ca/clean-energy... #CDNpoli #CDNmedia

On behalf of @stand.earth I spoke at Toronto’s Infrastructure and Environment Committee yesterday to urge Council Members not to let a key climate policy die. The Building Emissions Performance Standard (BEPS) was at risk of being shelved indefinitely.. Together, we brought it back to life 🙌

Toronto City Council has gotten cold feet on a green policy for existing buildings that's been in the works for two years.. We have just a few days to turn things around. Please send a message to bring this key climate policy back!

Stand.earth@stand.earth · 8mo ago

There's a big hole in Toronto's Climate Plan. A policy that would tackle the biggest source of pollution and make our homes safer is at risk of being shelved this week 😨 We can prevent that from happening by speaking up right now!

A long, ugly battle has just been set in motion. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/11/27/a...

Read it and weep: This pipeline agreement is a document of betrayal

How to describe the laundry list of climate-killing gifts to Alberta that the MOU spells out? The depth of the betrayal goes beyond words. I felt ill as I read it. It’s not just the hard-won ground lo...

nationalobserver.com

More than 50% of climate pollution in Toronto comes from burning gas to heat buildings The good news is, we can solve this.

Bill 60 is a vicious, one-sided tenancy legislation. It will cause widespread suffering and loss of life. Anyone who stays neutral is complicit. In this @thestar.com article, I focus on why mayors should fight it. www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

Ricardo Tranjan: Think Doug Ford has walked back his war on tenants? There’s more to come. Here’s how it should be fought.

Last week, the Ontario government introduced Bill 60, Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act. It includes many troubling legislative changes, but popular outcry so far has focused on the direct attack

thestar.com

Enbridge execs have been boasting to shareholders they plan to return $40-$45 billion to them over the next five years supported by gas expansions across the continent. Ontario in particular is a cash cow where they have an opportunity to "over earn." www.nationalobserver.com/2025/10/09/a...

Enbridge investors to get billions as gas giant expands into small-town Ontario

Enbridge executives know Ontario ratepayers are a cash cow for its gas business, and in recent calls with investors they said they plan to milk it for all its worth.

nationalobserver.com

According to Indigenous Watchdog, work on 16 calls to action hasn’t started, 22 have stalled, 42 are in progress and 14 are complete.

Are the TRC calls to action be answered?

A not-for-profit organization that is keeping track of how governments across the country are responding to report by the TRC.

aptnnews.ca

Opinion: National interest should include the rights of Indigenous women www.hilltimes.com/story/2025/0...

National interest should include the rights of Indigenous women

Bill C-5 is a major setback to reconciliation and the path to ending violence against Indigenous women and girls.

hilltimes.com

My thoughts on the new federal gov agency to build homes: “Yes, we desperately need to build new affordable homes. We’ve also made commitments to tackle the climate crisis. Fortunately we can do both at the same time" (more thoughts/info in the piece) thepointer.com/article/2025...

‘Affordability and sustainability don’t need to compete’: green housing advocates urge Carney to see big picture

‘Affordability and sustainability don’t need to compete’: green housing advocates urge Carney to see big picture.

thepointer.com

The perception that red tape is preventing Canada from building major projects doesn’t hold hold up. Hundreds of projects, worth hundreds of billions of dollars are planned under existing regulations. Yet Carney blames a bureaucratic maze for stifling growth to justify his deregulatory agenda.

Carney's red tape narrative doesn't hold up

The perception that a bureaucratic maze is preventing Canada from building major projects, as Prime Minister Mark Carney has argued to support his deregulatory nation-building agenda, doesn’t hold up ...

nationalobserver.com

After all, the reason Carney is sitting in the Prime Minister’s Office is because progressive swing voters made a strategic choice to lend him their votes — they didn’t lend Carney their vote to appease Trump, impose austerity or roll back workers’ rights. www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

We knew he was a blue Liberal. But Mark Carney is alienating progressive voters

The new PM's defiant tone doesn't always appear to match his actions.

thestar.com

A public invite to the Sept 20 Draw the Line actions from 21 movement leaders - representing an amazing cross-section of organizations. Find the action closest to you. Draw the Line: Tell the Carney Government to Pick a Side via @thetyee.ca thetyee.ca/Opinion/2025...

Draw the Line: Tell the Carney Government to Pick a Side | The Tyee

For people, for peace, for the planet. An invitation to join the Sept. 20 mass day of action.

thetyee.ca

I was glad to be interviewed for this piece about the federal govt's new home building agency, addressing affordability but also climate - which is important because buildings are so polluting I said it's "a huge opportunity to build homes well from the start"💡 www.hilltimes.com/story/2025/0...

Build Canada Homes must prioritize 'right' kind of housing, affordability and green energy, say advocates

The Build Canada Homes initiative, which aims to double national housing output to 500,000 new homes per year, is expected to launch this fall.

hilltimes.com

It’s fantastic that the federal gov’t will build millions of new homes. But these shouldn’t add to Canada’s emissions.. Rather than using polluting oil/gas furnaces, new homes must come with clean heating systems like electric heat pumps⚡️ Our open letter to the Feds: stand.earth/press-releas...

Builders, business leaders, and environmental groups demand that homes built by new government agency must be green - Stand.earth

An open letter sent to the Housing Ministry offers input into the design of a new agency, which plans to build millions of new homes.

stand.earth

New piece: We might not have fascism in Canada, but our response to U.S. threats has been to double down on colonialism + xenophobia. Power is centralizing to expedite extraction and we must fight in broad coalitions to win. Elbows up against the oligarchy! www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Canada said it would stand up to Trump. Instead, it’s taking cues from him | Shiri Pasternak and Dayna Nadine Scott

Federal and provincial governments are ‘flooding the zone’ with damaging corporate giveaways under the guise of resistance

theguardian.com