Canada continues to tout itself as a “world leader” in tackling ghost gear’s threats to marine life and coastal communities even though funding for the program dried up in 2024.  Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s (DFO’s) former investments to address abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear, were axed without explanation by the federal Liberals more than […]

A “shocking” amount of marine life is being ensnared in abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear adrift in Canada’s oceans, internal federal data reveals. Nearly 86,000 marine animals were caught up in “ghost gear” between 2020 and 2023, according to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) data obtained by Canada’s National Observer through an access to […]

A remote Cree community on the shores of James Bay has declared a state of emergency after its water treatment plant failed this week — a crisis residents say the federal government is responding to far too slowly.  Kashechewan First Nation, home to around 2,300 people alongside the Albany River in Ontario’s northern region, is […]

From avian flu to diseases that kill off oysters and invasive pests decimating trees, Canada’s food safety agency is facing an ever-increasing list of challenges to its job performance that are multiplying with climate change. In a detailed statement to Canada’s National Observer, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) broke down exactly how climate change […]

Hydroelectric dams on public lands are at growing risk of failure because the department responsible for them has no engineers, inadequate funding and no safety rules, an internal document warns. The document, obtained by Canada’s National Observer through an Access to Information and Privacy request, calls the state of affairs “unsustainable” at the Ministry for […]

Neil Johnson came home from a conference on artificial intelligence with dollar signs in his eyes. At a council meeting in his home of Newell County a few weeks later, Johnson set about convincing everyone else of the riches he’d caught a glimpse of. “We’ve got an opportunity here that, when you start adding up […]

Ottawa plans to embed 50 corporate leaders in key government roles after adopting a business group’s proposal — even naming the program after them, a briefing note reveals. Build Canada, funded by major Canadian tech and industry players, proposed changes to a federal program that would quickly embed 50 business executives in the federal public […]

Gaps in federal funding and authority expose many First Nations and Inuit Elders in Canada to inadequate long-term care, forcing them to leave their home communities, language and culture, documents show.  The document obtained by Canada’s National Observer through an Access to Information and Privacy request shows that limited funding, unclear responsibilities and gaps between […]

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has long demanded the federal government roll back climate policies, further support its highly polluting fossil fuel sector, and threatened a constitutional unity crisis if she doesn’t get her way.  On Thursday, Prime Minister Mark Carney blinked.  The two leaders signed a memorandum of understanding that immediately exempts Alberta from clean […]

Alberta’s forthcoming passenger rail master plan could open the door to a company’s “hyperloop” proposal — despite a federal study that found the technology is shrouded in uncertainty and unlikely to be viable this decade. All the hype around hyperloop technology started in 2013 when celebrity investor Elon Musk proposed the concept of using electric […]

The federal agency responsible for checking and regulating measurement of everything from gas pumps to electricity meters is identifying climate as a risk to its highly specialized operations. The agency — Measurement Canada — may sound boring, but if you have ever pumped gas, paid an electricity bill or bought vegetables at a self-checkout, you […]

Internal federal documents reveal that Health Canada is seeking exemptions from the federal government’s mandatory 5 per cent Indigenous procurement target, citing Indigenous capacity gap in scientific and mental health services.  Since 2021, federal departments have been obligated to award at least 5 per cent of their annual contracts to Indigenous businesses to support economic […]