April 22nd is Earth Day and this year’s theme is Planet vs. Plastic. This year’s Earth Day theme couldn’t come at a better time, because April 22nd also the day countries from around the world will gather in Ottawa to start the fourth round of negotiations to develop an international treaty on plastic pollution. All eyes will be on Canada for crucial talks to end one of the planet’s biggest environmental crises. Runaway plastic production is drowning the world in persistent and pervasive pollution. This is not only an environmental problem; scientists are increasingly connecting plastics and ..read more

In a show of support for the Ontario Energy Board’s (OEB) decision to end a costly subsidy to Enbridge Gas, many municipalities are passing motions in support of the OEB. The OEB’s decision has been the centre of attention for environmental and advocacy groups since it was passed late last year.  The OEB is Ontario’s independent regulator of the electricity and natural gas sectors. It is charged with monitoring how energy companies operate to make sure that the best interests of the public are served. One of the ways it does this is to set the rates that utilities, such as Enbridge, can ..read more

The post Opinion: Alberta marks one year of its emissions-reduction plan — how’s it going? appeared first on Environmental Defence ..read more

Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – Environmental Defence expert Keith Brooks, Programs Director, and Kent Elson, Lawyer at Elson Advocacy, will appear before the Standing Committee of the Interior regarding Bill 165, Keeping Energy Costs Down Act, the controversial legislation that, if passed, would allow the government to override the Ontario Energy Board and let Enbridge continue billing natural gas customers for the cost of connecting new homes to gas and expanding gas infrastructure. Who: Keith Brooks ..read more

You’ve probably seen Highway 413 in the news quite a bit lately. Last month, instead of standing up for Ontario’s environment, the federal government made a deal with Premier Ford. Together, they filed documents to cancel the federal government’s current environmental assessment. So, what does this mean? Is Ontario getting ready to bulldoze their way through farmland, wetlands and the Greenbelt? The short answer is no. Below are a few tools still in play to stop the destructive Highway 413 project. A New Impact Assessment We strongly disagreed with the federal government’s decision to not go ..read more

Written by Julie Segal, Senior Manager Climate Finance and Alex Walker, Program Manager, Climate Finance On 24th March 2022, Senator Rosa Galvez introduced the ‘Climate-Aligned Finance Act’ (CAFA) into the Canadian Senate. Bill S-243. CAFA is a piece of legislation which would comprehensively align our financial sector – our banks, pensions and insurance companies – with the realities of climate change. CAFA would hold corporate directors to account for climate action, mandate climate action plans from financial institutions, ensure there is no climate-related conflict of interest on boards ..read more

Ontario is home to eight native species of freshwater turtles – the biggest species variety and greatest density of turtles in Canada.  Unfortunately for our turtles, Ontario is also home to the highest density of roadways. Turtles are semi-aquatic meaning that they spend time in water and on land. They spend the winters “hibernating” at the bottom of lakes, ponds or rivers usually buried in the mud for protection. But as soon as the weather warms up, turtles emerge from the water and are on the move. In search of mates, new territories, and to find a suitable spot to lay their eggs they ..read more

2023 was a devastating year for so many people across Canada. Communities burnt down, livelihoods were destroyed and lives were lost. In addition to coping with climate disasters, families across the country were faced with the impossible choice of paying their energy bills or paying rent. Governments should be doing everything in their power to tackle both the climate and affordability crisis that is hitting so many of us.  And while the Government of Canada is taking some important steps, they’re also continuing to funnel billions of taxpayer dollars towards the very companies most res ..read more

New analysis from Environmental Defence reveals that despite federal government promises, funding to the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries remains high Ottawa | Traditional, unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg People –New analysis released today by Environmental Defence reveals Canada’s federal government provided at least $18.6 billion to the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries in 2023 alone – a substantial amount of taxpayer money that went towards making it cheaper to find, extract, process, transport, and export fossil fuels and their derivatives. “In 2023, as peop ..read more

Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – Environmental Defence experts react to the 2024 Ontario budget, released today. Keith Brooks, Programs Director: This budget once again shows that the Ontario government doesn’t take climate change seriously and is uninterested in being truthful when it comes to the costs of climate change and climate policies. The budget’s discussion of climate is limited almost exclusively to attacking the federal carbon price and claiming that it is driving up inflation and the cost of ..read more