Why Environmentalists Need to Change Their Strategy Under Trudeau
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- Published on Friday, 27 November 2015 11:15
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DeSmog Canada Named as Finalist for Canadian Online Publishing Award
DeSmog Canada has been named as a finalist for “Best News Coverage” by the Canadian Online Publishing Awards.
The awards recognize the best of the country’s online publishing and are judged by a panel of experts from Canada and the U.S.
The other finalists in the “Best News Coverage” category are The Globe and Mail, CBC News, Macleans Magazine and The Huffington Post Canada. Read more.
‘It’s a New Day’: Why Environmentalists Need to Change Their Strategy Under Trudeau Government
Nine and a half years. That’s how long Stephen Harper was prime minister of Canada — a long haul for environmentalists, who were all but shut out of Ottawa and often antagonized by the federal government.
Now that Justin Trudeau and the Liberals have taken the helm, advocates have high hopes for a course correction on the environment and energy files. But after nearly a decade of working under hostile conditions, environmentalists need to make a course correction of their own if they want to effectively influence public policy, experts say. Read more.
Alberta Climate Announcement Puts End to Infinite Growth of Oilsands
The days of infinite growth in Alberta’s oilsands are over with the Alberta government’s blockbuster climate change announcement on Sunday, which attracted broad support from industry and civil society.
“This is the day that we start to mobilize capital and resources to create green jobs, green energy, green infrastructure and a strong, environmentally responsible, sustainable and visionary Alberta energy industry with a great future,” Premier Rachel Notley said. “This is the day we stop denying there is an issue, and this is the day we do our part.”
Notley and Environment & Parks Minister Shannon Phillips released a 97-page climate change policy plan, which includes five key pillars. Read more.
Site C Opponents Call for Action from New Liberal Government as Construction Ramps Up
Heavy machinery is muddying the waters of the Peace River and trees are being felled in preparation for construction of B.C.’s controversial Site C dam, but First Nations and area residents believe the $9-billion dam can still be stopped in its tracks.
The hydroelectric megaproject will wipe out prime farmland and flood 107 kilometres of river valley bottom and, at a rally outside Victoria Courthouse last week, George Desjarlais, a West Moberly First Nation elder, said the court challenges will continue and the battle has only just begun.
“We don’t know how to quit, we don’t back away, we don’t stop, we do not give up,” he said to cheers and drumming from the crowd of about 200 people. Read more.
Trudeau Instructs Minister of National Revenue to Free Charities from Political Harassment
Environmental and left-leaning charities can breathe a sigh of relief now that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has instructed Minister of National Revenue Diane Lebouthillier to modernize Canada’s archaic charity law and clarify rules around allowable “political activity.”
The ministry should “allow charities to do their work on behalf of Canadians free from political harassment,” Trudeau wrote in a ministerial mandate letter Friday, “with an understanding that charities make an important contribution to public debate and public policy.”
The new mandate signals a remarkable change in tone from the, at times, aggressive stance of the former government.r0
