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Published on Thursday, 21 February 2019 03:02

Written by editor

$643.95 r1 We're told there's such a "large volume of records" it's gonna cost us ... View archive version We have been very busy this week, so there's lots to share with you but first I wanted to fill you in on something our Alberta reporter Sharon J. Riley (that's her rocking her Narwhal shirt in the woods above) has been working on.

One of the best tools in a journalist's toolbox these days is a little thing called a freedom of information request. It's a really boring procedure through which journalists can potentially get access to all sorts of really juicy internal government records.

Which brings me to the current situation: Sharon asked the Alberta Energy Regulator — the private corporation, funded by industry, that's been tasked by the Alberta government with regulating basically all things energy — to release a year's worth of emails and lobbying records with the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, a powerful fossil fuel lobby group. In return, the regulator told Sharon there's such a "large volume of records" that it's going to cost $643.95 to get our hands on them.

That would stop a lot of cash-starved news outlets in their tracks these days, but we know there've got to be at least 26 lovely readers out there willing to pay $25 to get these lobbying records into the light of day. Are you one of them? If so, please give $25 today so we can get these records ASAP.

Read on to find out what else we've been digging up this week!

Emma Gilchrist
Editor-in-chief, The Narwhal

Canada delays insecticide ban as study finds 40% of insects on verge of extinction

By Judith Lavoie

Remember the days when a summer drive meant cleaning smears of insect bodies off the windshield at every stop? Now, think about last summer’s drives. Hmm, no windshields covered in tiny corpses.

Scientists say the world's insects are in crisis. One of the culprits — neonics — were banned in the European Union last year, but Canada is still thinking about it. Read more.

North Cowichan residents discover they own six mountains and a logging company

By Daniel Pierce

The municipality of North Cowichan owns 5,000 hectares of coastal Douglas fir forest and has been logging in the backcountry for decades. But when logging tape appeared in more visible parts of the forest, the community started asking questions.

Since this story was published on Thursday, council has decided to pause logging for 2019 to do further public consultation. Read more.

Newfoundland's offshore oil gamble

By Greg Mercer
The largest oil spill in Newfoundland's history has researchers calling for stronger oversight, but the province has plans to double production by 2030. Read more.

The uncertain fate of the lower Fraser River's last salmon island strongholds

By Christopher Pollon
Most of this iconic salmon river’s foreshore wetlands, marshes and islands have been logged, diked, drained and converted to farming. Only a handful of un-diked islands remain, but now three of them have been bought and logged by developers, while conservationists mount a last-minute attempt to buy them. Read more.

Zapped: Unravelling the NDP's new spin around power prices and the Site C dam

By Sarah Cox
Our B.C. Legislature reporter Sarah Cox knows the saga of the Site C dam better than your average bear. After all, she's literally written the book on the topic. And yet, after all the years of political spin, she writes that last week’s media briefing about BC Hydro rate increases deserves a special place in the hall of fame. Read more.

Canada obliged to protect future generations from climate change, test case on carbon tax hears

By Larry Pynn
Remember how Saskatchewan is taking the federal government to court over the constitutionality of the carbon tax?

Well, in an interesting twist, a coalition of groups is intervening in that case to argue that the Canadian government has the constitutional responsibility to do what it can to slow greenhouse gas emissions to protect young Canadians and future generations. Iiiinteresting, hey? Read more. Follow us on Instagram How we feel when we don't get an access to information request back. Fight the good fight. Send this newsletter link to your besties. Donate Copyright © 2018 The Narwhal, All rights reserved.
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