Podcasts about environmental defence

“Build baby build!” Post-election, the word ‘pipeline' is popping up again. Mark Carney says he'll speed up energy project approvals, honour the duty to consult with First Nations and also hit Canada's climate goals. Eriel Deranger of Indigenous Climate Action worries these promises amount to “doublespeak.” She warns any plans to fast-track projects that impact Indigenous communities could face protest and legal pushback. Keith Brooks of Environmental Defence says the emissions cap and phasing out fossil fuel projects are the path forward.

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - On March 21, Environment and Climate Change Canada issued a press release stating that in 2023 Canada's greenhouse gas emissions dropped to their lowest level in 27 years (excluding the pandemic years). The exception in this otherwise positive picture was the oil and gas sector, where emissions continue to rise. However there is good news within that sector as well, ‘fugitive greenhouse gas emissions from oil and natural gas have decreased by 33% between 2013–2023, driven in part by Canada's 2020 oil and gas methane regulations, which have reduced methane venting and leaks.'   “The two main messages from the National Inventory report last week, which I feel are really important, is that climate policy works. Over the last 10 years, Canada's greenhouse gas emissions have gone down. Our methane emissions have gone down. Our electricity has become less emissions intensive, and all of that has happened while our economy has grown. This is a significant point to make. And this is something that environmental groups, activists, researchers, community leaders, all of them have been saying for decades,” responded Aly Hyder Ali, from Environmental Defence.  “The other aspect of the report was that the oil and gas industry is holding us back. The oil and gas industry has failed to do its part when it comes to emissions reductions and if it was able to or willing to do that, Canadians would be in a much better place.”

The Environmental Defence Society is warning if the Resource Management Act overhaul loosens the rules, the government will need a watchdog to keep the environment in check. Environmental Defence Society chief executive Gary Taylor.

Episode 15 - Part 3 - Water Knows No Boundaries: Releasing Toxic Tailings Ponds Won't Either What - Webinar previously recorded via Zoom on October 4th, 2022 Join Keepers of the Water and Environmental Defence as they dive into the alarming findings of their report which mapped decades of the toxic takeover of Indigenous territories by “tailings ponds,” massive reservoirs of oilsands wastewater. In part 3 Jesse starts off by giving the audience some background the Dene Nation, and Ally poses questions from the webinar viewers to Jesse and Daniel. Then Ally wraps up the webinar with closing remarks Then Daniel a resident of fort Good Hope and a retired lawyer speaks on the Tailings Ponds and the idea of controlled release of these Tailings into the Athabasca River Who - Jesse Cardinal is from the Kikino Métis Settlement, where she grew up. She has seen many changes to the lands and waters in her life and a drastic decline in wildlife. She loves to listen to Elders talk about how the land was, even before she was born. Jesse has been a youth worker and social worker and has grown into the roles of coordinator and director for environmental groups. Daniel T'seleie is K'asho Got'ine Dene from Radili Ko (Fort Good Hope). He is a retired lawyer who currently works with Indigenous communities and organizations on Indigenous rights and land protection issues. Daniel is also the N.W.T. Outreach Manager with Keepers of the Water. Aliénor Rougeot Aliénor's interest for human and environmental rights started during her childhood in the South of France, where she became vocal on topics of biodiversity loss, women's rights, refugee rights and climate change. Music - Soul Searcher by Scott Buckley – released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - Environmental Defence just released a report showing that last year oil and gas company lobbyists were targeting the Conservative Party, in preference to the Canadian Government, by more than a 2 to 1 ratio. Cortes Currents interviewed Emilia Belliveau, lead author of ‘Big Oil's Playbook, A Summary of Big Oil's 2024 Federal Lobbying' and asked Max Thaysen, from the Cortes Island Climate Action Network for his insights. Emilia Belliveau:  “Environmental Defence is a charity, so we are nonpartisan. What I can do is simply relay the facts, which are that the Bloc Quebecois and the Green Party did not take any lobbyist meetings. The NDP took a very small number, four. Then you have most of the lobby meetings targeting the Federal Liberals and the Federal Conservatives. The Federal Liberals had 62 meetings with ministers and 29 meetings with backbencher MPs, and Conservative MPs took 216 lobby meetings.”  Cortes Currents: That's 91 contacts with government ministers and Liberal MPs, which is less than half of the 216 meetings the lobbyists had with Conservative party members. Belliveau said this was a change from 2023 when gas and oil lobbyists met with Canada's two leading parties about 200 times each. (203 Liberal meetings vs 197 Conservative meetings.) Max Thaysen, a member of the Cortes Climate Action Network pointed out, “The numbers presented for who the fossil fuel companies were lobbying, means that they are hoping for and planning on a Conservative government. This would be very strongly in their favour as far as I can tell and probably as far as they can tell. That's something that we need to consider when we're making our decisions and taking action leading up to our celebration of democracy (voting day), whenever that comes.”  Emilia Belliveau: “Environmental Defense tracks the fossil fuel industry's lobbying of the Federal government in order to get a window into the ways that they're trying to influence climate policy. That has huge implications because we need ambitious government climate policy in order to tackle climate change at the scale that's really required.” Max Thaysen: “To quote one scientific paper that I'm still working through, ‘We are on the brink of an irreversible climate disaster.' This is a global emergency. We can't really remember that often enough and that should form the context of how we interpret these kinds of activities.” Cortes Currents: What about meetings that are initiated by the government or by one of the parties? Are those tracked? Emilia Belliveau: “When we try and track lobbying, what we really see is only meetings that are initiated by lobbyists get tracked in the government's registry. If the government itself requests a meeting, or sets up a working group, which we know they have done with certain oil and gas companies on major projects, those meetings don't count as lobby meetings. So they're not filed in the public record.” “There's actually way more contact with the government that we know is happening, but can't report on in our analysis. We've seen some really wonderful investigative journalism. For example, in the past year, the Narwhal did a great investigation into TC Energy where they revealed lots of other ways that industry is trying to influence government. Lobbying is just one tactic, in this real playbook that they have, for trying to shape government policy in favor of fossil fuels.”

Episode 14 - Part 2 - Water Knows No Boundaries: Releasing Toxic Tailings Ponds Won't Either What - Webinar previously recorded via Zoom on October 4th, 2022 Join Keepers of the Water and Environmental Defence as they dive into the alarming findings of their report which mapped decades of the toxic takeover of Indigenous territories by “tailings ponds,” massive reservoirs of oilsands wastewater. In part two Jesse starts off by giving the audience some background into Tailings Ponds and the devastating effects on the environment. Then Daniel a resident of Fort Good Hope and a retired lawyer speaks on the Tailings Ponds and the idea of controlled release of these Tailings into the Athabasca River Who - Jesse Cardinal is from the Kikino Métis Settlement, where she grew up. She has seen many changes to the lands and waters in her life and a drastic decline in wildlife. She loves to listen to Elders talk about how the land was, even before she was born. Jesse has been a youth worker and social worker and has grown into the roles of coordinator and director for environmental groups. Daniel T'seleie is K'asho Got'ine Dene from Radili Ko (Fort Good Hope). He is a retired lawyer who currently works with Indigenous communities and organizations on Indigenous rights and land protection issues. Daniel is also the N.W.T. Outreach Manager with Keepers of the Water. He helps raise awareness about N.W.T. issues and concerns concerning water and builds partnerships to protect water. Daniel has been advocating for action on climate change for over a decade. He is a novice trainer in non-violent direct action tactics and strategy focusing on environmental justice and Indigenous sovereignty. Music - Sleep by Scott Buckley – released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au

Episode 13 - Part 1 - Water Knows No Boundaries: Realeasing Toxic Tailings Ponds Won't Either What - Webinar previously recorded via Zoom on October 4th, 2022 Join Keepers of the Water and Environmental Defence as they dive into the alarming findings of their report which mapped decades of the toxic takeover of Indigenous territories by “tailings ponds,” massive reservoirs of oilsands wastewater. Aliénor Rougeot, Climate and Energy Manager at Environmental Defence, will be joined by our host Jesse Cardinal, Executive Director of Keepers of the Water and local Kikino Métis. In part one Jesse gives opening remarks by giving background to Keepers of the water and speaks briefly about the National Day of Action for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people. Who - Jesse Cardinal is from the Kikino Métis Settlement, where she grew up. She has seen many changes to the lands and waters in her life and a drastic decline in wildlife. She loves to listen to Elders talk about how the land was, even before she was born. Jesse has been a youth worker and social worker and has grown into the roles of coordinator and director for environmental groups. Aliénor Rougeot Aliénor's interest for human and environmental rights started during her childhood in the South of France, where she became vocal on topics of biodiversity loss, women's rights, refugee rights and climate change. These interests led her to the intersectional topic of climate justice, but it was only when she moved to Canada at the age of 17 that she truly understood the need for broad and collective mobilization for climate action. Music - Hymn to the Dawn by Scott Buckley – released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au

Episode produced by Whistler Brown, Lauren Daniels, Michael Homsi, and Flaka Zahiri. On this episode of Sync into the Earth, the hosts discuss the ongoing struggle to strike a balance between infrastructural development and environmental protection, considering the proposed Ontario Highway 413 as an exemplary case of this struggle. They are joined by Dr. Ryan Norris from the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Guelph to discuss these issues, and to shed some light on the current and future direction of conservation science within this scope. Ryan also shares his thoughts on some of the current research being conducted in relation to Highway 413, and how this could impact future policies, actions, and motivations. The hosts then follow the interview with a round-table style discussion, discussing some of the ongoing research relating to Highway 413, and more generally speaking, conservation science in Ontario. Topics relating to social sustainability, economics, wildlife management, forestry, and human health are explored, all tying back to the main theme of infrastructural development co-existing with adequate environmental protection and conservation measures. References: Alamenciak, et al. (2023). Ecological restoration research in Canada: Who, what, where, when, why, and how? FACETS, 8, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2022-0157 Heide, K., & Norris, R. (2022). The Road to Our Ruin – How Highway 413 would impact threatened and endangered species. Environmental Defence. https://environmentaldefence.ca/report/highway_413_road-to-our-ruin/#:~:text=If%20built%2C%20the%20highway%20would,streams%2C%20supporting%20important%20aquatic%20communities. Laurance, et al. (2015). Reducing the global environmental impacts of rapid infrastructure expansion. Current Biology, 25(7), R259–R262. 

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - 54% of the respondents to a new poll from Abacus Data stated they think Canada should prioritize the development of renewable energy, 36% would like to see a ‘balanced approach' and 11% would rather prioritize fossil fuels.  “ We commissioned Abacus to run this polling for us and see where Canadians stand in terms of their support for renewable energy and around reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. What's clear is that a majority of Canadians want to see government action to phase out fossil fuels and prioritize renewable energy. Canadians know that renewables are a win, win, win. We know that they save people money. They mean lower energy bills. Renewables mean cleaner air. They mean job creation. So the benefits are huge,” explained Julia Levin, Associate Director for National Climate, Environmental Defence.  “The results around phasing out fossil fuels may be a bit more surprising. More than half of the people we surveyed want to see government action to phase out fossil fuels. What it says to me is that Canadians are really understanding that the production and use of fossil fuels is what's causing the climate crisis and the only way to avoid ever more catastrophic climate disasters is a transition away from fossil fuels towards renewable energy.” “The extent of support, especially within progressive voters, took me by surprise because this is much bolder climate policy than what we're seeing being proposed, by any government outside of Quebec, and so I think there's a clear lesson to governments at all levels that these aren't just important policies for climate, for the economy. They're popular, Canadians want them.”  Cortes Currents: I see that 2,700 Canadians were polled, how many of these were in British Columbia Julia Levin: “ We had a sampling size of 278 BC voters. BC and Quebec were the highest in terms of supporting renewable energy  and prioritizing renewable energy over fossil fuels.”  Cortes Currents: Looking over the figures I see 65% of the respondents in Quebec, 54% in BC and 52% in Ontario support prioritizing renewables.  There is a similar alignment when it comes to phasing fossil fuels out:  60% in Quebec, 55% in Ontario and 54% in BC.  Julia Levin: “Only about a third of Canadians put any kind of trust in oil and gas companies, and that was similar for BC. It reflected the national average.”  Cortes Currents: I'm wondering how important is a poll like this? Public opinion seems to fluctuate. It seems like whenever the world takes a step forward, it is followed by a backlash. A lot of governments supported the Paris Agreement in 2015, but that was followed by the election of several Conservative governments including Trump's first presidency. We've seen a similar backlash here in BC, where a government which at least claims to favour climate action only narrowly won the recent election.  Julia Levin: “ I think there's a  few observations on that. One is to validate  your observation that when we see climate progress, then we see a big backlash.  Part of that speaks to the influence of the oil and gas industry.” “This is, globally, the wealthiest industry. A lot of political influence, political power here in Canada at all levels and around the world. Any time there's a real threat, the oil and gas industry get creative about how they push back. We see that  in the amount of lobbying that happens here in Canada. At the federal level, oil and gas companies were meeting with federal officials five times each working day last year. We see that in their massive ad campaigns. The coalition of the largest tar sands companies in Canada ran a multi-million dollar ad campaign to lie to Canadians about their climate impact.” 

The Government is considering charging New Zealanders $20 to access national parks and $30 for international visitors. Environmental Defence Society policy director Raewyn Peart spoke to Morning Report.

THE ZOOMER SQUAD:  WHAT DO CANADIANS THINK ABOUT THE U.S. ELECTION? Libby Znaimer is joined by Anthony Quinn, Chief Operating Officer of CARP, Rudy Buttignol, President of CARP and John Wright, a veteran pollster. This week: who will win the U.S. election? Will it be Donald Trump or Kamala Harris? And, what do Canadians think about it all, especially Zoomers? Our panel reacts to the latest. REUSABLE BAGS: DO YOU HAVE TOO MANY OF THEM? Libby Znaimer is joined by Ellen Roseman, a consumer advocate and journalist and Ashley Wallis, Associate Director of Environmental Defence. If you regularly go shopping, it's a problem you've likely encountered: the accumulation of more reusable bags than you know what to do with. It begs the question: just how environmentally friendly are these bags? HOW TURNING BACK THE CLOCK CAN IMPACT ROAD SAFETY Libby Znaimer is joined by Toronto Police Acting Superintendent Matt Moyer of Traffic Services and Matthew Camden, Senior Research Associate with Virginia Tech Transportation Institute Division of Freight, Transit, and Heavy Vehicle Safety. Over the weekend, Daylight Saving Time came to an end and our clocks have turned back an hour. How exactly does this impact our driving and general road safety? Our guests weigh in.

Representatives from the Aamjiwnaang First Nation and various environmental groups hold a news conference in Ottawa to raise concerns about health and environmental harms caused by the plastic industry in Canada. Aamjiwnaang First Nation called on the Ontario government to shut down a chemical plant in Sarnia after high levels of the cancer-causing chemical benzene were detected in the Ontario First Nation and several of its community members fell ill and were hospitalized. Speaking with reporters are Janelle Nahmabin (elected councillor, Aamjiwnaang First Nation), Dr. Sehjal Bhargava (Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment ), Melissa Gorrie (law reform manager, Ecojustice), Sabaa Khan (climate director and director general of Quebec and Atlantic Canada, David Suzuki Foundation), and Karen Wirsig (senior program manager for plastics, Environmental Defence).The news conference comes as Canada hosts the fourth session of the United Nations' Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-4). Delegates from around the world are meeting in the nation's capital from April 23 to 29 to develop an international legally binding agreement on plastic pollution by the end of 2024.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/policy-and-rights--3339563/support.

Michael Bernstein, Clean Prosperity and Emilia Belliveau, Environmental Defence; Shachi Kurl, Angus Reid Institute and Christian Bourque, Leger; The Front Bench with: Sabrina Grover, Melanie Paradis, Gurratan Singh and Rachel Aiello.

LEAD-THE ZOOMER SQUAD: REMEMBERING ROSALYNN CARTER Marissa Lennox is joined by Rudy Buttignol, President of CARP,  Anthony Quinn,  Chief Community Officer of CARP and Peter Muggeridge, Senior Editor of Zoomer Magazine. This week: Ottawa is set to release its Fall fiscal update on Tuesday. CARP wants to know if there will be anything in it for its members. Meanwhile, the wife of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has passed away. Rosalynn Carter was 96. Our panel reflects on their legacy together. Also a report from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation shows a trend of older adults choosing to age at home primarily due to greater wealth and health. The survey looked at major Canadian cities including: Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa and Montreal. LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT PARTS WAYS WITH ONTARIO PLACE DEVELOPMENT PLANS Marissa Lennox is joined by Walter Kehm, a former director of the University of Guelph's school of landscape architecture and former senior principal at Toronto-based LANDinc and Norm Di Pasquale, Co-Chair of Ontario Place for All. A landscape architect has left his company which has a contract with the Ford government for the Ontario Place redevelopment project. He has decided to step away because he says the redevelopment poses a threat to the important wildlife habitat by leading to the clearing of hundreds of trees in the area. Meanwhile, there is also controversy over the 95 year lease that Austrian developer Therme signed for the $350-million spa it plans to build there. And, currently, the provincial auditor general is investigating the government's Ontario Place plans. So, where do we go from here? FEDERAL COURT OVERTURNS OTTAWA'S SINGLE USE PLASTICS BAN Marissa Lennox is now joined by Ashley Wallis, Associate Director of Environmental Defence. The federal Canadian Court has shut down Ottawa's single-use plastics ban. Tune in to find out why and what this potentially means for Canadian food businesses. Listen live, weekdays from noon to 1, on Zoomer Radio!

We talk about Ontario's anti-Palestine stance, union victory in the US, and the state of insurance in the climate fight. Stefan interviews Tim Gray of Environmental Defence about the Greenbelt scandal.

The murder of Owen Sound restaurant owner Sharif Rahman rattled the city last month. His death was a blow to a downtown that has already been dealing with many challenges. The local businesses in the community are rallying and healing with the return of its Wellness Walkabout. It's a series of events and activities for emotional, mental and physical health, hosted by a group of shops in the core. Maryann Thomas is one of those host businesses who runs The Ginger Press, and also the lead organizer. She spoke in great detail about the event. Yesterday Premier Doug Ford announced a complete reversal of the move to open up the protected land to developers. It was a move many were calling for through sustained protests and public calls to action. Tim Gray is the executive director of Environmental Defence, which has been leading the HANDS OFF THE GREENBELT campaign. He talked to us about the next steps. A three-year-old black bear named Sasha has found his forever home in the town of Rosseau. The young cub is originally from Marineland, and first came to the Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary as a foster animal. But, his temporary status changed when team members decided to make him a permanent resident earlier this month. Jan Kingshott, the director of animal welfare at the sanctuary, gave use all the details about their new family member.

There's a proposal to allow tents on the Halifax Common as part of Regional Council's strategy on homelessness at Halifax Regional Council. We spoke with Councillor Waye Mason about this proposal and other ideas. And on the phone-in: Karen Warsig from Environmental Defence addresses the problem of plastic packaging.

We talk about a tenant's strike, Fairy Creek, firefighters, Biden, and MMIWG. Stefan interviews Julia Levin of Environmental Defence about "inefficient" fossil fuel subsidies.

Brian welcomes two guests onto the show.First, Tim Gray. Tim is the Executive Director of Environmental Defence. Tim's policy focus has been in the areas of forest policy and practice, conservation design and land-use planning, climate change and management of plastic waste. He has specialized in project development and management, negotiation, market development and government relations. He also has taken roles related to the development and use of market mechanisms to achieve conservation change and been involved in the development of Forest Stewardship Council Canadian regional standards and of procurement policies in Central America. We talk about the Greenbelt and moves to change its holdings.Then, Pascal Hamelin. Pascal is President and CEO of Abcourt Mines. He is holder of a Mining Engineering Degree decreed by the Ecole Polytechnique of Montreal, is member of the Ordre des Ingénieurs du Québec (since September 2009) and of the Professional Engineer of Ontario (since July 1993). Mr. Pascal Hamelin cumulates over 30 years of progressive and relevant experience in mining project management. This experience was acquired in the Sudbury and Abitibi mining camp. Tonight he talks about a promising gold mine in Quebec.

In the first hour of NOW with Dave Brown: Karen Wirsig from the Environmental Defence explores the environmental impact of excessive plastic packaging in grocery stores (14:39). Meagan Gillmore dives into the first independent review of the Nova Scotia Accessibility Act (27:29). And community reporter Milena Khazanavicius tells you about this year's TD Halifax Jazz Festival (45:31)!

Host Alex Pierson speaks with  Karen Wirsig, senior program manager for plastics at Environmental Defence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lauren speaks with Amara Possian of 350.org, Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, and Aliénor Rougeot of Environmental Defence about Canada's “Sustainable Jobs Act.”

RECOVERING POLITICIANS PANEL: THE FINAL STRETCH OF THE TORONTO MAYORAL RACE Libby Znaimer is joined by Lisa Raitt, former deputy leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, George Smitherman, former Ontario Liberal MPP for Toronto Centre who also served as a health minister and deputy Premier, and Peggy Nash,  the New Democratic Party Member of Parliament for the Parkdale—High Park electoral district in Toronto. Today: A look at the final stretch of the Toronto mayoral election campaign. Libby and our recovering politicians take a look at what the leading candidates are saying so far this week and Libby shares her thoughts on why Olivia is the front runner. Meanwhile, the Ontario government has taken public sector workers to the Court of Appeal over Bill 124 being struck down by a judge at the Superior Court of Justice. According the fiscal watchdog of the province, the government will owe $8.4 billion over five years to public sector workers if the law remains overturned. WHAT'S UP WITH ALL THAT PLASTIC PACKAGING? Libby Znaimer, Karen Wirsig, Senior Program Manager, Plastics at Environmental Defence and Michelle Genttner, Co-Owner of Unboxed Market. Why is it typically the case that when you go to the grocery store to pick up a pack of mushrooms or peppers it comes wrapped in all of this wasteful plastic. And those are just two examples. Where is all of this packaging coming from anyways? And since the federal government announced a ban on certain single-use plastics, is the reality of excessive plastic packaging on produce and other foods a sign that the government's measures to tackle the issue not go far enough? Michelle also talks about the alternative solutions she's been implementing at her own grocery store. JOSH MATLOW GIVES US HIS FINAL PITCH BEFORE ELECTION DAY Libby Znaimer, Karen Wirsig, Senior Program Manager, Plastics at Environmental Defence and Michelle Genttner, Co-Owner of Unboxed Market. Josh is on the line with us to give his final pitch to the listeners as to why they should vote for him. In the latest Liason Strategies Josh Matlow is in 3rd place with 13 per cent.    It's part of our series we are doing this week where we will be bringing on the leading candidates in the next few days to share why they should get your vote. Tune in and call in with questions and share your thoughts on Toronto's election.

Dozens of climate activists protested in front of the Prime Minister's Office on Sunday to protest a climate bill they describe as “shameful," that would “allow the government to continue promoting destructive measures” damaging the environment. The protest took place  in Jerusalem while the Ministerial Committee on Legislation discussed the climate bill. “We are at a critical moment in the fight to stop the climate crisis,” environmental organizations said in a joint announcement. KAN's Mark Weiss spoke about the climate bill with Tammy Gannot, the executive director of the Israel Union for Environmental Defence. (Photo:Reuters)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Right now, Toronto is seeing a massive shift in housing zoning policies both at the municipal and provincial level. Today's guest, land use and environment lawyer, Phil Pothen, talks to Urmi about these developments and his analysis of potential impacts.  Phil Pothen, J.D., M.L.A., leads policy research and advocacy regarding land-use planning, natural heritage, habitat protection, and transportation as head of the Ontario Environment Program at Environmental Defence.  We discuss the latest City of Toronto staff proposal to allow multiplexes to built in Toronto's so-called ‘Yellow belt' which currently only allows detached and semi-detached homes, how the Ontario government's “Build More Homes Faster” Act (Bill 23) is opening more of the Greenbelt to development and more.  Follow Phil on Twitter: @pothen  Environmental Defense website: https://environmentaldefence.ca/ Link to City of Toronto Chief Planner - Expanding Housing Options in Neighbourhoods: Multiplex Study: https://secure.toronto.ca/council/agenda-item.do?item=2023.PH3.16 Link to Build Homes Faster Act (Bill 23): https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/1002423/ontario-taking-bold-action-to-build-more-homes You can also watch this interview on our Move Smartly YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/movesmartly Follow us and send us your questions and feedback via Twitter @MoveSmartly, Instagram @move.smartly, or email: editor@movesmartly.com  And if you find this show useful, please rate and, even better, leave us a written review on Apple podcasts, so that more people can benefit from this information. It's very much appreciated!

Dr. Angele Alook is an Assistant Professor in the School of Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies at York University. As a member of Bigstone Cree Nation in Treaty 8 territory, her research has mainly focused on the political economy of oil and gas in Alberta. She specializes in Indigenous feminisms, life course approaches, Indigenous research methodologies, cultural identity, and the sociology of family and work. David Gray-Donald is a settler media worker in tkaronto (Toronto). He worked as a climate campaigner at Environmental Defence from 2022 to March 2023. He's also worked as the publisher of Briarpatch, a news and analysis magazine with strong anti-poverty, feminist and decolonial politics, and the publicity and promotions Manager at Between the Lines. He's the current publisher of The Grind magazine in Toronto, and is the co-author of the new book The End of This World: Climate Justice in So-called Canada (https://btlbooks.com/book/the-end-of-this-world). The other authors of the book are Emily Eaton, Joël Laforest, Crystal Lameman and Bronwen Tucker. We focus primarily on The End of This World, an absolutely indispensable text for understanding and acting on our climate crisis paradox. There is far too much in that book for me to even attempt to summarize it, but what I'd like to emphasize is that it is proactive, decolonial, and radical, in the sense of identifying the fundamental roots of our climate emergency in a relationship to land that they and others describe as “extractivist.” That term can be tricky; as Imre Szeman and Jennifer Wenzel have explained, it is a term that designates not just the practice of extraction, but the ideological project of making extraction from the earth for private gain and consumer use seem completely natural, normal, and inevitable. Against that, and in response to the threats inherent to global warming, Angele and David, along with their co-authors, look to imagine alternative futures, futures that aren't even just limited to decarbonization, but that respond in rigorous ways to the question of what it will mean to decolonize and decarbonize as two aspects of the same mission to save our planet. For Angele, the point is to emphasize the possibility and urgency of imagining ways of “building an economy based on systems of care” to replace what she calls our “death economy.” She and David make it crystal clear that the goal has to be not only respecting Indigenous sovereignty and inherent rights, but supporting everyone. This is a struggle for the future of a habitable planet, after all. And the push for a just transition has to confront that challenge with a sober sense of how to lift up not just workers in the oil and gas industry, but also people in the service industry who work to facilitate that industry, the people who take care of all the care labour, the domestic forms of caring that are usually performed by women and that are always left not only unattended to, but unrewarded. I'm releasing this interview around Earth Day for these reasons, but listening again to their insights, it struck me that Earth Day or Earth Month, or even making the claim that Earth Day is every day, is insufficient. These are good reminders, sure. But they're incomplete. Their book isn't just a reminder, it's a roadmap. And even though a roadmap is a metaphor rooted, to an extent, in our current regime of fossil fueled freedom, it's the right metaphor for thinking about how to get on and stay on a pathway that takes us out of the accelerationist race toward blowing our carbon budget, blowing our chance to stop the measurable, material, and tangible effects of runaway global heating. As they say in the book, “new political possibilities can be opened up quickly and change often happens in a non-linear way,” and that means that there isn't a “strict deadline after which hope is lost.”

Your daily highlights of Toronto Today with Greg Brady, Sheba Siddiqui & Gord Rennie. On today's episode: 1 - The Federal Government's announcement of re-installing funding to Hockey Canada at the Final of the Women's World Hockey Championship. (0:15 - 6:21) 2 - Mark Saunders, mayoral candidate and former chief of police.  (6:26 - 27:17) 3 - Anthony Housefather, MP for Mount Royal. (27:23 - 35:36) 4 - IN/OUT: National anthem at sporting events.  (35:42 - 40:55) 5 - Karen Wirsig, senior program manager at Environmental Defence. (41:01 - 51:11)

Your daily highlights of Toronto Today with Greg Brady, Sheba Siddiqui & Gord Rennie. On today's episode: 1 - The Federal Government's announcement of re-installing funding to Hockey Canada at the Final of the Women's World Hockey Championship. (0:15 - 6:21) 2 - Mark Saunders, mayoral candidate and former chief of police.  (6:26 - 27:17) 3 - Anthony Housefather, MP for Mount Royal. (27:23 - 35:36) 4 - IN/OUT: National anthem at sporting events.  (35:42 - 40:55) 5 - Karen Wirsig, senior program manager at Environmental Defence. (41:01 - 51:11)

The Bill Kelly Show Podcast: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's chief of staff has agreed to testify before one of the committees investigating the extent of the Chinese government's interference in Canada's elections — and what the Liberal government knew about it. GUEST: Daniel Béland, Director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has released foreign interference special rapporteur David Johnston's mandate, which instructs the former governor general to determine by May 23 whether a public inquiry is necessary. However, Johnston will have months more to dig into the broader issue of shoring up Canada's democracy. GUEST: Michael Kempa, Associate Professor of Criminology at the University of Ottawa - Ontario's plans to build housing near a massive national park could be shut down if a new study shows a negative impact on biodiversity and at-risk species, the federal environment minister warned on Tuesday. Steven Guilbeault said the study will be conducted as soon as possible in Rouge National Urban Park in the Greater Toronto Area GUEST: Phil Pothen, Ontario Environment Program Manager for Environmental Defence

Environmental Defence's Allie Rougeot gives us a comprehensive picture of Imperial Oil's wastewater spill. Stefan also interviews policy researcher Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood about Canada's Sustainable Jobs Plan.

An initiative in Alberta is working on making hydrogen part of Canada's strategy to reach net-zero emissions, though some experts warn the fuel has drawbacks. Matt Galloway talks to Alanna Hnatiw, chair of the Edmonton Region Hydrogen HUB; David Layzell, a research director at the Transition Accelerator; and Julia Levin, associate director of national climate at Environmental Defence.

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In this two-part episode of the Courage My Friends podcast, Tim Gray, executive director of Environmental Defence and Sandra Schwartz, national executive director of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) discuss the crisis of biodiversity loss and mass extinction, Canada's commitments under the Kunming-Montreal agreement coming out of the global COP15 gathering on biodiversity, and challenges and strategies toward meeting this very ambitious and even more necessary target. According to Schwartz: the UN has reported recently,.. that around a million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction. And that is really within a few decades. That's more than ever before in human history. And that's largely a result of human interaction with nature. So whether that is from exploration, from mining for example, forestry, …clearly we need to act now to save the natural world, because it is sustaining us as humans. Speaking to the recent Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, Schwartz says: [I]t was a huge win, both for people, but also for the planet. .. Target Three of the framework is requiring the protection of at least 30% of land and ocean is protected globally by 2030…a requirement that Indigenous rights are respected and that Indigenous territories are recognized…And, all together the goals and targets of the agreement really do present a comprehensive plan to protect and restore biodiversity. But it's ambitious. And really, from our perspective going into the conference, what we were most holding out hope for was that the Framework Agreement would be ambitious.  Reflecting on proposed development on the Ontario Greenbelt, Gray says: 70% of the lands to be removed, is in something called Dufferin's Rouge Agricultural Preserve. It was both part of the Greenbelt, but also had its own separate protective legislation, which was removed by Bill-39 at the same time that Bill-32 was going through…This was formally publicly-owned land, sold to the farm community with legal easements to keep it as farmland forever, which have now been removed and open for development. So threats both to forest and wetland systems that are associated with the National Park, contrary to Indigenous rights and Indigenous opposition, threatens the viability of farming in that area. ..And so the viability of the farm community is threatened, major river systems, federally listed species at risk, fisheries habitat, migratory birds. The list is very, very long.  In terms of the implementation of global agreements, Gray says: [O]ne of the real challenges that we face is that, even as we sign international agreements that commit to stopping loss, increasing protection, advancing restoration to address biodiversity loss is that we see, like in particular in Ontario right now, a massive race in the opposite direction with dismantling of protection regimes for woodlands, wetlands, massive encouragement of sprawl development at the expense of building denser cities with transit, etc. So it is a real challenge to see the most populist, most wealthy province with a huge amount of the the biodiversity that this country holds, literally racing in the direction of further destruction  About today's guests Tim Gray is the executive director of Environmental Defence. Gray has over 25 years experience developing and implementing environmental policy change efforts. These have included major shifts in land conservation, forest practices and climate change. Starting out his career as a biologist and policy analyst, Gray has spent a lot of time learning skills that move complex environmental issues toward resolution. He has worked with other change makers on the front lines of conflict and has also taken his skills inside to work on government advisory committees and in complex negotiations with industry. Gray completed an H.BSc. at Wilfrid Laurier University and a M.Sc. at the University of Toronto. Sandra Schwartz is the national executive director of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society. With master's degrees in management, and environmental studies and over 20 years of experience, she is a strong advocate for sound environmental policy and has championed progressive ideas for clean energy and tackling climate change. Transcript of this episode can be accessed at georgebrown.ca/TommyDouglasInstitute.  Image: Sandra Schwartz and Tim Gray  / Used with Permission Music: Ang Kahora. Lynne, Bjorn. Rights Purchased Intro Voices: Ashley Booth (Podcast Announcer); Bob Luker (voice of Tommy Douglas); Kenneth Okoro, Liz Campos Rico, Tsz Wing Chau (Street Voices)  Courage My Friends Podcast Organizing Committee: Chandra Budhu, Ashley Booth, Resh Budhu.  Produced by: Resh Budhu, Tommy Douglas Institute and Breanne Doyle, rabble.ca Host: Resh Budhu

Guest: Julie Segal With COP27 having recently wrapped, credible climate plans — both at the state and corporate levels — are once again at the forefront of investors' minds. Julie Segal is the senior program manager for climate finance at Canadian charity Environmental Defence. She just returned from the conference in Egypt and discusses the prevalence of corporate greenwashing and the report "Roadmap to a Sustainable Financial System in Canada," which she co-authored.

Libby Znaimer is joined by Lisa Raitt, the former Deputy leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, John Milloy, Former Ontario Liberal MPP who served as a cabinet minister under the Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne governments and Cheri DiNovo, a former Ontario NDP MPP. Today: our panel reacts to a new Mainstreet Research poll that reveals that the province's Bill 23 (also known as "Moe Homes Built Faster Act") is very unpopular including among many PC voters. The government has just started its mandate and has already been raising the eyebrows of many with this bill among others like Bill 7. Are they off to a good start? Meanwhile, executives from Canada's large grocery chains including Loblaw and Sobeys testified at the House of Commons agriculture committee and are arguing that they are not trying to profit off of inflation. ----- PARKS CANADA ARGUES THAT ONTARIO'S GREENBELT PLANS WILL CAUSE IRREVERSIBLE DAMAGE Libby Znaimer is joined by Phil Pothen, Ontario Environment Program Manager at Environmental Defence. Parks Canada is critical about Doug Ford's Greenbelt plans. They are arguing that the government's plan to remove almost 5,000 acres of the greenbelt land on the border of Toronto and Durham will cause irreversible damage to wildlife in the region. Phil explains. ---- CANADIAN CONSUMER DEBT IS UP 7.3 PER CENT FROM LAST YEAR Libby Znaimer is joined by Stacy Yanchuk Oleksy, the Chief Executive Officer of Credit Counselling Canada. According to Equifax Canada, consumer debt in this country reached $2.36 trillion in the third quarter which is a 7.3 per cent increase compared to last year. The debt is fueled by an increase in borrowers. So, just how serious is the situation and what can you do about managing your own debt? Stacy explains. Listen live, weekdays from noon to 1, on Zoomer Radio!

The world's largest greenbelt now has a target squarely on its fertile soil. The Government of Ontario has tabled Bill 23, which will weaken crucial environmental protection and remove public consultation before development. The new law effectively strips taxpayer's rights as community members will no longer be allowed to participate in development decisions that affect their neighborhoods, local farms and natural areas.  "It is very clear there is no valid public interest justification for expanding beyond the land we have already allocated for growth with our existing boundaries. This makes sense only for turning multi-millionaires into multi-billionaires" says Phil Pothen, Ontario Environment Program Manager at Environmental Defence. Join me to learn more about Bill 23 and why it could have a disastrous impact on the future of Ontario. Hands Off The Greenbelt Events Take Action Petition Connect with your local MPP - Automated [This petition link will automatically connect to your MPP based on your postal code]  

Our first live show in 3 years! We're joined by Tim Gray the Executive Director of Environmental Defence, Erika Reyes of the Climate Optimism Dinners, and Lauren calls in from COP 27.

Jane Brown is joined by Peter Muggeridge, Senior Editor of Zoomer Magazine, David Cravit, Chief Membership Officer of CARP and Bill VanGorder, Chief Operating and Chief Policy Officer of CARP. In the latest pertaining to CUPE vs the province, Premier Doug Ford announced that his government would be willing to drop the strike legislation and go back to the bargaining table if the union decides to stop striking. CUPE has agreed to this. But what comes next? ---- FORD GOVERNMENT'S PLAN TO BUILD HOMES ON GREENBELT Jane Brown is now joined by Mike Schreiner, leader of the Green Party of Ontario, Gideon Forman, climate change and transportation policy analyst at the David Suzuki Foundation and Tim Gray, Executive Director of Environmental Defence. The Ford government has an ambitious plan to build 50,000 new homes on the Greenbelt. According to Housing Minister Steve Clark, the province wants to open up roughly 7,400 acres of the protected land to do this. Premier Doug Ford said that we have a housing crisis to deal with due to a growing immigrant population. Our panel weighs in on the latest and on whether Ford broke his promise about protecting the Greenbelt. Listen live, weekdays from noon to 1, on Zoomer Radio!

Karen Wirsig from Environmental Defence shares findings from their new report about Canada's failure to meet targets for plastic waste and pollution elimination. From the October 6, 2022 episode.

Today on NOW with Dave Brown, Karen Wirsig from Environmental Defence shares findings from their new report about Canada's failure to meet targets for plastic waste and pollution elimination. Dawn Dickinson previews Voices of The Walrus with an article about why some millennials lack an interest in hobby culture. Community reporter Blaine Deutscher shares details about a blind bowling opportunity in Regina. Milena Khazanavicius describes some issues with guide dog access in Nova Scotia. And, Marc Aflalo from Double Tap shares some of the new tech revealed at this morning's Google Pixel event. This is the October 6, 2022 episode.

The US is blocking chipmaker Nvidia from selling some of its advanced products to China, according to the company's latest filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Disney is exploring the creation of an Amazon Prime-like membership, per The Wall Street Journal. A new study from environmental advocacy group Environmental Defence that tested items from Canadian dollar stores found that 25% of them included toxic chemicals like lead, cadmium, and antimony. The Peak Daily is produced by 306 Media Productions. Hosted by Brett Chang and Jay Rosenthal.

Are all the products you buy at a dollar store safe? Recent testing has shown that toxic chemicals are being used to manufacture these products. Something like the outer ring on a set of stereo headphones was found to have 24 times the legal limit of lead, and five times the legal limit of cadmium. Tim Gray, Executive Director of Environmental Defence, talks to Alex about this and what the federal government needs to do when it comes to regulating these products.

The federal government will ban some single-use plastics, including straws, takeout containers and grocery bags, over the next 18 months. Guest host Duncan McCue discusses what the plan involves — and what's missing — with Karen Wirsig, from Canadian environmental advocacy organization Environmental Defence; and Angela Riley, founder of Scotian Shores, an organization dedicated to cleaning Nova Scotia's shorelines.

This episode jumps into the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss and how the climate movement in Ontario stays agile. Our guest Tim Gray of Environmental Defence shares why the election window is such an important time to advocate for policy, the message collectives are hoping to get across to politicians this cycle, and the work that comes after election day.  Guest biography: Tim grew up on the shores of Lake Huron and acquired his love of nature there. He has over 25 years of experience developing and implementing environmental policy change efforts. These have included major shifts in land conservation, forest practices and climate change. Starting out his career as a biologist and policy analyst, Tim has spent a lot of time learning skills that move complex environmental issues toward resolution. 

Transport Minister Omar Alghabra and NDP transport critic Taylor Bachrach respond to the report from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) regarding the train derailment in 2019 near Field, B.C., that killed three CP Rail employees. Transport Minister Omar Alghabra and NDP transport critic Taylor Bachrach respond to the report from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada regarding the train derailment Bloc Québécois foreign affairs critic Stéphane Bergeron and NDP deputy leader Alexandre Boulerice comment on Russia's continued membership in the G20 amid its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. NDP natural resources critic Charlie Angus discusses Environmental Defence's new report on fossil fuel subsidies and carbon capture. Justice Minister David Lametti is asked about the Quebec criminal trial involving a police informant that was held in secret.

Chapter 1: A big day in Ottawa where we're expecting the throne speech as well as a special national address from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.  Global News chief political correspondent David Akin joins us to talk about what we might hear. Chapter 2: After a pretty steady recovery, job postings flatlined in the third week of September.  That's according to data from Indeed DOT C-A, Brendon Bernard is an economist at the Indeed Hiring Lab and he joins us with some analysis. Chapter 3: There have been many changes to how sporting events are held due to the COVID-19 pandemic. One that you may not have noticed is the style of whistle that referees are using. Ron Foxcroft is from Hamilton, Ontario and years ago he created the Fox 40 - the most popular whistle used in sports. Recently, he has had to adapt again, and is now selling an electronic whistle. The electronic whistle has been a hit - the company has received 50-thousand orders so far, including orders from the NFL and NBA. Chapter 4: Another big story out of Ottawa today, as the Supreme Court will hear provincial challenges to a federal carbon tax.  Environmental Defence is an advocacy group that supports a federal price on carbon emissions, and they're one of the groups participating in the hearings.  Sarah Buchanan is their clean economy program manager joins the show Guest: Sarah Buchanan, Clean Economy Program Manager at Environmental Defence. Chapter 5: It's unlikely that Trudeau will call a federal election and Canadians want a throne speech focused on the immediate future. Guest: Darrell Bricker, IPSOS Public Affairs CEO. Chapter 6: Snap elections don't always work out the way the incumbent hopes.  Dave Barrett and Glen Clark both got a taste of reality when they sought reelection. Clark squeaked out a win but it was short lived, and there's no doubt John Horgan is shooting for a majority here.  Guest: Cara Camcastle, professor of political science at Simon Fraser University.

For a long time, many campus and community stations have considered themselves to be a force for social change in their communities.  So, once again, they're using their airwaves towards that end. 1. Facts are Free is a collection of public service announcements that are being aired on campus and community radio stations across the country in the weeks leading up to the election. The non-profit and charitable radio sector in Canada has launched a campaign to raise awareness about climate change and environmental issues facing Canadians. The campaign is called Facts are Free and it's been created in cooperation with with Environmental Defence and the VX3 Exchange. Luke Smith is a learning and development officer with the National Campus and Community Radio Association. He talked to Victoria Fenner. 2. Canada's youth have the opportunity this election to shift the political landscape considerably. For the first time in Canada's history, millennials and Gen Z make up the largest voting bloc — 37 per cent of the electorate — so there is a lot of opportunity to force politicians to focus on youth issues that are otherwise ignored. If youth come out to vote, there could be far reaching consequences. Whether they'll take advantage of the opportunity remains to be seen. Future Majority is an organization set up to work towards that end.  Shreya Kalra is working as a field organizer with Future Majority. As a part of this campaign, she's been speaking to about 100 students everyday at Seneca College's Newnham campus about the issues that are affecting their everyday lives. She took a break from organizing to talk to rabble radio on October 2, 2019. Image: Victoria Fenner

Why hasn't Canada charged Volkswagen for its sale of emission-cheating diesel cars? Simi speaks with Tim Gray, Executive Director of Environmental Defence, about the news that his organization is taking Canada's Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna to court again for failing to punish the car company for its emission tampering scandal.  Guest: Tim Gray Executive Director of Environmental Defence

Chapter 1