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Doug Ford’s Attack on The Greenbelt Has Little to Do With Housing Affordability, Everything to Do With Cronyism

Despite widespread opposition from Ontario’s business community, municipalities, environmental organizations, and Indigenous groups, Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives (PCs) are forging ahead with their plan to develop sensitive lands in the Niagara Escarpment and Oak Ridges Moraine.

Having done away with protections for 7,400 acres of land, the PCs face an uphill battle justifying their move to the public. A safeguard for farmland, cultural heritage, and recreation, in addition to forests, wetlands, waterways, and other key ecosystems, the Greenbelt transcends the left-right paradigm to bring together a diverse coalition of supporters — including many that typically align with the Progressive Conservatives.

Jean Charest’s Grand Delusion

After a seven month campaign marred with controversy — including accusations of internal corruption and party infighting — the Conservative Party of Canada has elected Pierre Poilievre as its next leader.

Widely regarded as the favourite to take over from interim leader Candice Bergen, Poilievre received 68.15% of the vote on the first round, unsurprisingly trouncing his closest rival, Jean Charest, who received a paltry 16.06%.

I Don’t Trust Doug Ford on Electric Vehicle Policy – and Neither Should You

With less than 100 days until Ontario’s next provincial election, Doug Ford’s incumbent Progressive Conservatives (PCs) are now pitching themselves as champions of the electric vehicle (EV) industry. The PC’s “Driving Prosperity” plan — which is at the heart of Ontario’s economic agenda — intends to make the province a juggernaut in EV and battery manufacturing, and has been lauded by Conservative MPPs as a major climate effort.

After Years of Waiting, Canada Finally has a Federally-Funded Solar Incentive Program

The Leaders Summit on Climate, recently hosted by President Biden, represented a pivotal step forward in the fight against climate change. As it underscored the urgency of industry-wide decarbonization, participating nations were encouraged to up their environmental ambitions. Many nations heeded this call, including Canada, which pledged reductions of 40-45% of 2005 levels by 2030 (compared to a previous target of 30%).

Not long ago, I wrote about the need for a federally implemented solar incentive as a way of kickstarting Canada’s post-pandemic recovery and fighting climate change. Canada now appears to be moving forward with such a policy, according to the recent announcement of the Canada Greener Homes Program.

The Role of Municipal Government in Fighting Climate Change

Discussions of climate mitigation strategies tend to be centered around provincial and federal initiatives, with municipalities often excluded from the conversation altogether. This is unfortunate, as municipalities play an important role in developing environmental public policy.

If Canada is to achieve its aggressive, time-sensitive emission reductions, all levels of government must be included in decarbonization processes. Discussing the policy tools available to municipalities also helps Canadians identify the importance of local government. In doing so, unlikely voters can be mobilized during municipal elections, which is critical to facilitating rapid change.

Environmentalists Need to Stop Talking About Overpopulation

During the 50th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, world-renowned primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall asserted that “most environmental problems wouldn’t exist” if the world’s population was at the level it was at 500 years ago. I have great respect for Dr. Goodall, but this perspective is simplistic at best and highly problematic at worst.

What a Biden Presidency means for American Cleantech

Saturday afternoon, on November 7^th, 2020, Biden was declared President-Elect by major media outlets across the United States, putting an end to an election characterized by unprecedented levels of voter and industry anxiety. The candidacies and visions of Joseph Biden and Donald Trump could not have been more juxtaposed, demonstrating the severe degree of polarization throughout the United States.

Is Canada’s Carbon Tax Enough to Fight Climate Change?

As Canada’s 2019 Federal election looms overhead, carbon pricing has shown itself to be a highly contested and divisive issue. Since the Federal Liberals announced their carbon pricing plan, it’s dominated the conversation surrounding climate change. The NDP and Greens back the Federal Liberal’s proposal, whereas the Conservatives do not, meaning the issue has fallen down a left/right, partisan split.

Making the Case for a Canada-Wide Solar Incentive

In just a few short months, the coronavirus pandemic has profoundly destabilized the world’s economies and brought on a devastating recession sure to have lasting impacts. Governments around the world have scrambled to unload a tsunami of government expenditure and social programs to avoid economic collapse. Where countries choose to direct this expenditure will have serious structural and economic implications moving forward, heightening the pressure on incumbent governments to make the right decisions.

Canada’s 2019 Election is a Win for Green Energy

In less than 100 days, Canadian voters will head to the polls to determine the country’s next 4-year mandate. Likely, this means choosing between Justin Trudeau and the Liberals, or Andrew Scheer and the Conservatives. For many businesses, the familiar feeling of election uncertainty looms in the air. Industries which are supported primarily along partisan lines, such as renewable energy, know that a changing mandate often forecasts trouble.

How Can Municipalities Mitigate Climate Change?

In discussions of climate mitigation strategies, responsibility tends to fall entirely on provincial and federal governments. Municipalities are often excluded from the conversation altogether, which is unfortunate, as they play an important role in developing environmental public policy.

How Solar Energy Could Entice Young Workers to Take-up Agriculture

For many young Canadians, career prospects are bleak, with little hope for change. Economic anxiety grips the country, even as the governing Liberal party has enjoyed a relatively stable economy throughout their time in office.