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 […]

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 […]

On October 28, officials at the City of St. Catharines knew the filtration system designed to prevent highly toxic chemicals from leaching into the former GM property on Ontario Street and the surrounding area was no longer functional, but for weeks they have failed to tell the public. A freedom of information request by The […]

B.C.’s minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship hopes to start working with the federal government toward a strategy to prevent train-wildlife collisions in the new year. “It’s really concerning,” Randene Neill said in an interview with The Narwhal this week. “I wasn’t aware that the numbers are that high.” Neill’s comments follow The Narwhal’s […]

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 […]

“I can’t see why we have to destroy the Greenbelt when there are thousands of acres within [the] metropolitan area of Toronto, which are empty or brownfields,” Assunta Marcolongo, a long-time member of the grassroots group STOP the 413 NOW, says. On a freezing, rainy morning last week, November 21, 79-year-old Marcolongo travelled an hour-and-a-half […]

Most Quebecers have only to twist a tap to get a seemingly endless source of clean water. The reality is completely different in the northern region of Nunavik, where the water supply system faces a host of problems, from bad weather to outdated equipment and labour shortages.  Some would be inclined to blame a lack […]

STRATFORD – A request for information came during the presentation of the Perth County Forestry Inspector report.  The report states that in September, Marvin Smith, forestry inspector, completed five inspections in response to the submission of a Notice of Intent and three inspections in response to a request from a landowner. According to the report, […]

ADELAIDE METCALFE – Council approved a new policy governing the responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) and received an update on the School Road Landfill capacity during its November 3 meeting. CAO Morgan Calvert presented the Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence Policy, explaining that it positions the township ahead of pending provincial regulations. “In 2024, […]

Repeated flooding on a Niagara-on-the-Lake farm has pushed grower Michael Watson to give the Town of NOTL an ultimatum. After offering the town an Oct. 31 deadline to outline concrete steps to fix the problem, warning he’d take legal action if it didn’t, he’s now giving it until Nov. 30 to provide a full report […]

The truck slowly pulled alongside as I idled at the side of a remote dirt road in northern B.C. No cell service, the nearest town half an  hour away. I’d pulled off to let industrial traffic heading the other  direction pass. It was 2022 and I was on my way to meet with Indigenous  land […]

A new report from Dalhousie University shows flaws in the environmental review process for mining operations in Canada, with researchers finding that data for 20 per cent of the projects they reviewed was incomplete or missing entirely from public records. The report collected all available environmental impact assessments on mining projects dating back to 1974 […]