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Category: Press Release

  • New Report Released by Environmental Defence Highlights Big Oil’s Relentless Lobbying

    Big Oil’s Relentless Lobbying Efforts are Obstructing Climate Progress on Parliament Hill

    A new report by Environmental Defence analyzes the 1,255 lobby meetings the fossil fuel industry held with the government in 2023

    Montréal/Tiohtià:ke | Traditional, unceded lands of the Kanien’kehá:ka/Mohawk Nation, a gathering place for many First Nations, including the Anishinaabeg  – A new report released today by Environmental Defence, Big Oil’s Big Year: A Summary of Big Oil’s 2023 Federal Lobbying, finds that oil and gas companies and industry associations continue to influence climate progress through persistent lobbying. In 2023, they had at least 1,255 lobby meetings with the federal government. The industry predominantly targets its lobbying efforts at the ministries and ministers responsible for climate policy.

    “Oil and gas companies continue to delay and weaken the climate policies we urgently need through their relentless lobbying efforts,” says Emilia Belliveau, Energy Transition Program Manager at Environmental Defence. “The lobby meetings we track and insights in this report are really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the tactics these companies use to obstruct climate action. Still, it’s important for the public to see how much access the oil and gas industry has to both elected representatives and public service staff.”

    The report compiles data from the Federal Registry of Lobbyists. It highlights the most active fossil fuel companies and industry associations, as well as the Members of Parliament, ministries and ministers targeted for lobbying. Some of the key takeaways from the report include: 

    • Fossil fuel companies and their main industry associations had at least 1,255 meetings with the federal government in 2023. That means Big Oil lobbied Parliament nearly five times per working day.
    • Industry associations were two of the top three most active fossil fuel lobbyists in 2023, with the Pathways Alliance registering 104 meetings and the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers registering 91. 
    • The five companies that lobbied the most were Suncor (93 meetings), Pembina Pipeline Corp (87 meetings), Cenovus (82 meetings), Imperial Oil (79 meetings) and Enbridge (72 meetings).
    • The federal ministries most frequently targeted by lobbyists were Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), and Finance Canada (FIN).
      • NRCan staff participated in at least 313 meetings with oil and gas lobbyists, including 34 with Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson present. 
      • ECCC staff participated in 253 meetings, including 12 with Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guiltbeault present. 
      • Finance Canada staff participated in 118 meetings. 
    • Oil and gas companies and industry associations lobbied Members of Parliament 410 times.

      Figure 1. Top Ten Oil and Gas Company Lobbyists

    These figures do not capture the entire extent of the industry’s access, given that the data only includes meetings initiated by the companies that meet the requirements for lobby reporting and not meetings set up by the government.

    The report reveals the outsized influence of the Pathways Alliance and its member companies. The Pathways Alliance, the newest oil sands lobbyist consortium, consists of Suncor, Imperial Oil, MEG Energy, Cenovus, Canadian Natural Resources Ltd, and ConocoPhillips. The interests of the Pathways Alliance and its member companies were the most thoroughly represented through lobbying, occupying five spots on the list of the ten most active oil and gas lobbyists. Combining the individual lobbying of Pathways Alliance member companies with the meetings registered by the Alliance, the government had at least 469 registered meetings with this coalition. 

    “The Pathways Alliance has been readily granted frequent meetings with federal ministries. This is particularly concerning because Pathways has done so much to try and greenwash the oil sands,” says Belliveau. “The Pathways Alliance attempted to rebrand their member companies with massive advertising campaigns that made misleading claims about becoming ‘net-zero’. But these companies’ oil sands extraction operations are some of the largest sources of climate pollution in Canada. Despite this, the oil sands rebrand seems to have succeeded in affording the Pathways Alliance a closer working relationship with the government. The outcome for climate policy in Canada is that regulations have been diluted with loopholes or have been moving at a snail’s pace to the finish line. And we’ve seen the government prioritize and pour taxpayer dollars into the oil industry’s carbon capture pipe-dream instead of cost-effective and readily available climate solutions.”

    Given the fossil fuel industry’s history of using political influence to delay and weaken climate policy, Environmental Defence calls on Ministers and MPs to stop accepting meetings with fossil fuel industry lobbyists and increase transparency around their influence on Canada’s climate policies.  

    Background Information

    • The Narwhal recently conducted an investigation on lobbying tactics based on a leaked recording of a lobbyist for TC Energy instructing a group on how to sway the government. The lobbyist described having people bump into politicians outside of work to blend the personal and professional, drafting proposed policies that they give to “underpaid and overworked” government staffers to submit as briefing notes on government letterhead, and even working to influence Canadian ambassadors abroad to deliver pro-fossil fuel industry messages to politicians.
    • Research by the InfluenceMap investigated the Canadian oil and gas industry’s attempts to influence climate and energy policy. InfluenceMap’s analysis shows widespread use of “net-zero greenwashing.” They also collected evidence of Cenovus Energy, Canadian Natural Resources Limited, Imperial Oil, and TC Energy fighting against climate policy. 
    • In follow-up research, the InfluenceMap specifically investigated the Pathways Alliance. Their work further demonstrates how Pathways attempted to rebrand itself as climate-friendly oil sands in the eyes of the public and policymakers, particularly through the promotion of carbon capture and storage (CCS). InfluenceMap states, “Despite their overwhelming advocacy for CCS, Pathways has raised contradictory concerns about the reliability of CCS technologies in more direct communications with policymakers and has opposed government mandates for CCS.” And further noted that Pathways has “advocated for the withdrawal of the Oil & Gas Emissions Cap, attempted to weaken oil and gas sector methane regulations, and advocated for delays and exemptions in the Clean Electricity Regulations.”
    • Big Oil has a long history of denying climate change and promoting disinformation to greenwash the fossil fuel industry. This is well-documented in the US House Committee on Oversight and Accountability’s joint staff report Denial, Disinformation and Doublespeak: Big Oil’s Evolving Efforts to Avoid Accountability for Climate Change”
    • The oil and gas sector is Canada’s largest source of GHG emissions, accounting for 31% of national emissions in 2022, the most recently reported year. Oil sands make up the largest percentage of the sector’s emissions. Oil sands sites are some of the largest physical asset sources of emissions in Canada, with the Kearl Oil Sands Project in Alberta being the largest single emitter. Furthermore, a 2024 study showed that oil sands carbon emissions are drastically underreported. 

    ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca):

    Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.

    – 30 –

    For more information or to request an interview, please contact: 

    Midhat Moini, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca

    The post New Report Released by Environmental Defence Highlights Big Oil’s Relentless Lobbying appeared first on Environmental Defence.

    This post was originally published on Environmental Defence.

  • New Backgrounder Released by Environmental Defence Summarizes the Problems of Ontario’s Increasing Reliance on “Natural” Gas

    Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – A new backgrounder released by Environmental Defence today, Ontario’s Gas Problems: The Issues With Fracked Gas, takes a look at how Ontario’s increasing reliance on “natural gas” is worse than usually accounted for and worse than most Ontarians appreciate.

    Some 90 per cent of the gas used in Ontario is fracked gas, imported from the U.S. and Western Canada. Fracking is harmful to human health, linked to respiratory disease, endocrine disruption, leukemia and other cancers. In the process of fracking, a lot of methane gas escapes into the atmosphere. Methane is over 80 times more potent than CO2 over a 20 year period. These fugitive methane emissions are supercharging climate warming.

    “Enbridge is aggressively marketing gas as clean and low-carbon, when in fact, it’s neither of those things. Ontario’s gas is mostly fracked, but it’s extracted in far-off places and the harms of fracking are out of sight, out of mind. But it’s bad,” said Keith Brooks, Programs Director for Environmental Defence. “Ontarians should be aware of the impacts of expanding the use of gas in this province. It’s much worse than most Ontarians typically think.”

    The backgrounder points out that when the fugitive methane emissions are accounted for, burning gas to generate electricity is just as bad as coal or potentially even worse from a climate perspective. Fugitive methane emissions are also chronically underreported and may be even more abundant than most official reports account for. Further, Enbridge employees report that the gas monopoly often leaves pipeline leaks unaddressed, sometimes for months on end, letting methane seep into the atmosphere.

    “Ontario led the way in phasing out coal-fired power plants, but now all that effort is being undone by an increasing reliance on gas. The province is building more gas plants and running the existing ones much more than originally planned, which is projected to see emissions increase by nearly 600 per cent by 2030 according to the IESO. Why are we going backward?” asked Brooks. “This accounting doesn’t consider all of the fugitive methane emissions released during gas extraction, transportation and storage, and it doesn’t factor in how potent the greenhouse gas methane is in the short term. When we do account for these factors, gas is worse than coal!”

    Ontario is also celebrating the construction of a $358 million gas pipeline expansion project, subsidizing gas expansion to new communities like Bobcaygeon, Huntsville and Selwyn, and the province recently passed legislation to maintain a subsidy that would essentially ensure that new homes built in areas serviced by gas will get gas furnaces.

    “We should not be building new gas pipelines in this province, and we certainly shouldn’t be subsidizing gas hook ups to new homes. Other jurisdictions are banning gas heating in new homes – that’s what Ontario should be doing as well. Heat pumps are far superior and less expensive to operate in most cases,” said Brooks. “All of this is just made all the more important when we factor in that most of this gas is fracked.”

    ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.

    – 30 –

    For more information or to request an interview, please contact:

    Tamara Latinovic, Environmental Defence
    media@environmentaldefence.ca

    The post New Backgrounder Released by Environmental Defence Summarizes the Problems of Ontario’s Increasing Reliance on “Natural” Gas appeared first on Environmental Defence.

    This post was originally published on Environmental Defence.

  • Big Oil Continues Raking in Big Profits

    Profits

    Statement by Julia Levin, Associate Director, National Climate

    Ottawa | Traditional, unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg People – The largest oil and gas companies operating in Canada continue to post eye-popping profits. Just four companies – Suncor, CNRL, Cenovus and Imperial – made a combined total revenue of over $95 billion in the first half of the year. After shareholders and CEOs were paid, their combined total profits were a staggering $10.4 billion. These enormous profits fuel the affordability crisis, yet these companies keep asking governments for larger and larger handouts. Furthermore, these companies keep investing in more and more oil and gas production, even though they know their products are the primary cause of the climate crisis that has already impacted so many Canadians through wildfires, droughts and storms. Governments around the world have implemented windfall taxes on oil and gas profits; the Government of Canada should do the same.

    Backgrounder information

    – 30 –

    For more information or to request an interview, please contact:

    Midhat Moini, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca

     

    The post Big Oil Continues Raking in Big Profits appeared first on Environmental Defence.

    This post was originally published on Environmental Defence.

  • Statement on the First Anniversary of Alberta’s Moratorium on Renewable Energy

    Statement from Stephen Legault, Senior Manager, Alberta Energy Transition, Environmental Defence

    Canmore | Traditional territories of the Treaty 7 Nations – The Alberta government’s efforts to stunt the growth of the most promising renewable energy market in the country has been a deeply regrettable success. One year after stunning Alberta businesses and consumers with a seven-month moratorium on new green energy projects, investment in renewable energy in Alberta has crashed. A review of investment in wind and solar projects shows that new deals for renewable energy dropped from more than 1000 Megawatts (MW) in 2023 to just 50 MW so far this year.

    Since the moratorium was announced by Premier Smith on August 3rd, 2023, there have been no new wind and solar projects approved in the province, according to data from the Business Renewable Centre. Projects that were close to being approved before the halt are just starting to move again, now a year behind. As the rest of the world pivots to renewable energy, Alberta has effectively shut the door on the economic promise of energy transition.

    According to the International Energy Agency, more than $2 trillion (USD) is expected to be invested in renewable energy projects globally in 2024. That’s more than double what is projected for oil and gas projects. Very little, if any, of that renewable energy investment will find its way into the pockets of Albertans, further frustrating the current affordability crisis and locking us into an economic downturn as our energy leadership quickly disappears.

    The Alberta government has hobbled Alberta’s renewable energy industry for too long. It’s time for the premier to reverse this job-killing policy and allow the ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit of Albertans to restore our potential to be energy leaders.

    ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.

    – 30 –

    For more information or to request an interview, please contact:

    Alex Ross, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca

     

    The post Statement on the First Anniversary of Alberta’s Moratorium on Renewable Energy appeared first on Environmental Defence.

    This post was originally published on Environmental Defence.

  • New Endangered Species Habitat Mapping Could Kill Proposed Highway 413

    redside dace

    Statement from Phil Pothen, Land Use and Land Development program manager, on new federal Recovery Strategy

    Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – New federal protections for an endangered fish may pose an insurmountable obstacle to the Ontario government’s plans to build a massive new highway north of the GTA that will inevitably result in significant forest and wetland losses to greenfield sprawl.

    The Recovery Strategy and Action Plan for the Redside Dace (Clinostomus elongatus) in Canada, which came into force on Monday, identifies many streams and tributaries within three river watersheds along the proposed Highway 413 route as Critical Habitat that must be protected for the species’ survival. Although Ontario’s government has been able to gut or circumvent many of the provincial environmental, public safety and wildlife protections that would ordinarily prohibit the 413, the text of Canada’s constitution puts protecting fish species and their habitat squarely within federal jurisdiction.

    This new Recovery Strategy and its official recognition of the critical redside dace habitat along the proposed highway’s route will further enable Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault to designate a federal impact assessment of Highway 413.

    Fortunately, this year’s federal budget restored the minister’s power to designate impact assessments for projects with potential impacts that fall clearly within federal jurisdiction. Canada’s constitution explicitly gives the federal government jurisdiction regarding “inland” fish, so the recognition of waterways along the Highway 413’s impact area as redside dace Critical Habitat makes the case for a federal assessment designation unassailable.

    Separately, recognition of these streams as Critical Habitat means that construction companies – and the provincial government itself – are prohibited from doing anything directly to them that would destroy any of their value as habitat for the species. That would require permission from the federal government. That means that it will be up to the federal government, which has presented itself as a defender of the environment, to decide whether the Highway 413 proposal can proceed.

    ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry, and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate, and healthy communities.

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    For more information or to request an interview, please contact:
    Carolyn Townend, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca

    The post New Endangered Species Habitat Mapping Could Kill Proposed Highway 413 appeared first on Environmental Defence.

    This post was originally published on Environmental Defence.

  • Statement in Response to New Hydrogen Handouts From the Federal Government

    Statement by Julia Levin, Associate Director, National Climate

    Ottawa | Traditional, unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg People –Today, Minister Wilkinson announced a new $300 million handout for the Canada-Germany Hydrogen Alliance. This is a terrible use of taxpayer money for an energy-intensive, inefficient, and expensive hydrogen scheme.

    The new funding announcement aims to build markets in Germany for proposed hydrogen exports from Canada. Let’s be clear about what is involved in shipping hydrogen overseas.

    Producing hydrogen requires a huge amount of wind energy. Transporting hydrogen overseas is incredibly challenging and expensive – and has never been successfully done at scale. Therefore, hydrogen must be turned into ammonia to ship it, using even more energy. By the end, approximately 80 per cent of the original energy is lost.

    That is not a smart use of Atlantic Canada’s renewable energy. The wind energy used to produce hydrogen won’t be available for local use. Nova Scotia still relies on dirty coal for half of its electricity. A much better use of new wind power would be to replace coal with clean, affordable wind power.

    Hydrogen is being presented as a key climate change solution because when it is burned, it doesn’t create any greenhouse gas emissions. But that hides hydrogen’s dirty secret – when it leaks into the atmosphere it actually does contribute to global heating. And it leaks a lot.

    We have cost-effective, proven, and reliable solutions that are ready today—including solar, wind, and battery storage—which continue to be underfunded by all levels of government.

    The hydrogen hype is sucking up a lot of money and attention – but the public won’t benefit from it.

    Background information

    • The Government of Canada is already subsidizing hydrogen. For example, Export Development Canada has already provided $400 million in financing to two green hydrogen projects in Atlantic Canada. The federal government has also developed a hydrogen investment tax credit, which they have estimated will cost $5.7 billion by 2028 and $17.7 billion by 2035.
    • Though hydrogen does not produce greenhouse gases when burned, it still contributes to global heating through a chain of chemical reactions that increases the amount of greenhouse gases, like methane, in the atmosphere.  Hydrogen’s global warming potential is 33 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. Given how prone to leakage hydrogen is, even renewable hydrogen risks contributing significantly to global heating.
    • The Auditor General found that the Government of Canada’s hydrogen strategy is based on unrealistic assumptions and overestimates hydrogen’s potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
    • According to the UN, the widespread and untargeted use of hydrogen may complicate the task of decarbonizing world economies on account of its higher costs and inefficiencies relative to other climate solutions, such as direct electrification.
    • The vast bulk of today’s hydrogen is used where it is produced. It is currently prohibitively expensive and technologically challenging to transport hydrogen.
    • Converting hydrogen to ammonia for shipping involves many steps, with an end-to-end efficiency of just 20%.
    • A large part of Germany’s future hydrogen demand could be supplied to the country via pipelines from neighbouring countries, meaning that the projects in Atlantic Canada could end up as stranded assets as the high costs would make them uncompetitive with other projects.

    ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.

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    For more information or to request an interview, please contact:

    Midhat Moini, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca

     

    The post Statement in Response to New Hydrogen Handouts From the Federal Government appeared first on Environmental Defence.

    This post was originally published on Environmental Defence.

  • New Poll: 84 per cent of People across Canada Want Grocery Chains to Get Rid of Unnecessary Plastic

    Support also strong for further government action on plastics

    Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – A July poll commissioned by Environmental Defence, and conducted by Abacus Data confirms that the overwhelming majority of people across Canada — 84 per cent — want less single-use plastic in the grocery store. As well, more than 80 per cent support further actions from the federal government to address plastic waste and pollution additional to the single-use plastic bans that came into effect at the end of 2023.

    “Plastics producers, grocers and their lobby groups have been trying hard to undermine the federal government’s action on plastics, from filing lawsuits to threatening price spikes for consumer goods,” said Karen Wirsig, Senior Program Manager for Plastics at Environmental Defence. “The poll shows these shameful tactics aren’t convincing anyone. In fact, people across Canada clearly want businesses and the federal government to do more to address plastic pollution.”

    Canada is among dozens of countries around the world that have adopted bans on single-use plastics. But bans on a few items will not be enough to stop the impacts of plastic pollution on the environment, wildlife and human health. Plastic creates pollution from the moment it is made and continues polluting long after it is thrown away—often after a brief, single use. Environmental Defence is advocating for regulations to further restrict and ban single-use plastics and eliminate harmful chemical additives, as well as a shift to accessible and convenient reusable packaging systems.

    “It’s encouraging that people in Canada have not bought into the fear-mongering and disinformation about the plastic bans,” Wirsig added. “People everywhere understand that plastic is creating a pollution crisis and they want governments and polluters to take action to stop it. Plastic food packaging is unavoidable, and so we all bring home too much plastic from the grocery store. That’s something the major retailers can fix and their customers would clearly support them in doing it.”

    Microplastics and chemical additives from packaging are also finding their way into food and drinks, raising alarm bells about the impact of plastic food packaging on peoples’ health. Concerns about the impacts of plastic food and beverage packaging were reflected in the survey, with two-thirds of respondents saying they prefer to drink beverages from a glass bottle instead of a plastic bottle, and 18 per cent having no preference. Drink containers are also among the most littered plastic items and environmental groups have urged the federal government to include plastic drink containers in an expanded ban.

    Strong support for action on plastic was shared across party lines and geography, with the highest levels in Quebec, Atlantic Canada and British Columbia. People aged 60 and older were most likely to support both increased federal action on plastics and the elimination of plastic packaging at the grocery store.

    “As we come to the end of another Plastic Free July, governments, political parties and businesses need to come to terms with the fact that they are failing to turn the plastic tide,” Wirsig said. “There is more and more plastic in our lives—it’s in our environment, our lakes, rivers and oceans, and in our bodies. The poll shows that people are not going to just accept it. We want more action, urgently.”

    The poll was conducted by Abacus Data with a random sample of panelists during the week of July 4 to 9. The margin of error for a comparable probability-based random sample of the same size is +/- 2.19%, 19 times out of 20.

    Click here to read the full polling results

    ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.

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    For more information or to request an interview, please contact:

    Lauren Thomas, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca

    The post New Poll: 84 per cent of People across Canada Want Grocery Chains to Get Rid of Unnecessary Plastic appeared first on Environmental Defence.

    This post was originally published on Environmental Defence.

  • Joint Statement on Looming Public Transit Service Cuts in Metro Vancouver

    public Transit

    ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE, MOVEMENT: METRO VANCOUVER TRANSIT RIDERS, DAVID SUZUKI FOUNDATION

    Public Transit Riders, Environmental Groups Urge Long-Term Fix to Transit Funding Model

    Ottawa | Traditional, unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg People – Today, TransLink (Metro Vancouver’s transit agency) revealed to the public the looming consequences of not fixing Canada’s broken public transit funding model.

    The scenarios reported to the Mayor’s Council on Regional Transportation include;

    • Up to a 50 per cent cut in bus service, 
    • 145 of 230 transit routes cancelled, 
    • A 30 per cent reduction in Skytrain service, 
    • Up to 675,000 people losing access to transit service within walking distance,
    • Up to 265,000 jobs becoming no longer accessible by transit,
    • Congestion worsening by 20%.

    In response, Environmental Defence, Movement, and the David Suzuki Foundation urge the federal and provincial government to work together and develop a long-term fix to broken transit finances in Vancouver and across the country. 

    Quotes

    “These shocking numbers only highlight how the federal government’s recently announced Canada Public Transit Fund does nothing to address the core challenge facing transit systems today: a shortage of operations funding. Not a single cent of the $30 billion announced by the Prime Minister last week can go towards stopping transit service cuts in Metro Vancouver. Choosing not to fund public transit operations has severe consequences: congestion will become worse, people will lose access to frequent and reliable transit, and this will only push us further from meeting our climate goals. The federal government must step up and work with provincial governments to craft a New Deal for public transit,” said Nate Wallace, Clean Transportation Program Manager at Environmental Defence. 

    “There isn’t enough transit today for the number of riders we have. Seeing ‘Sorry Bus Full’ on the front of a bus is increasingly common. Can you imagine cutting almost every bus route in Langley, Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, and the Tri-Cities? This doomsday for transit riders is also going to be a doomsday for businesses that use our region’s roads. Over a third of our region rides transit; what happens when the transit they’re riding gets pulled out from under them? What will be the cost to truckers when one 60-foot bus transforms into 70 cars? When British Columbians vote this October, they should not have to be worried about having to go out and spend tens of thousands of dollars on a new car. We need every political party to commit to stopping this transit apocalypse.” said Denis Agar, Executive Director of Movement: Metro Vancouver Transit Riders.

    “We need to save public transit, so public transit can help save the planet. Stopping public transit service cuts isn’t optional – it’s essential to meeting our climate goals. The federal and provincial government must work together on hammering out a long-term funding solution that finally fixes the broken public transit funding model in Vancouver and in cities across the country,” said Gideon Forman, Climate Change and Transportation Policy Analyst at the David Suzuki Foundation.

    ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.

    ABOUT MOVEMENT (movementyvr.ca): Metro Vancouver Transit Riders (Movement) is a group of riders fighting for better transit in Metro Vancouver.

    ABOUT DAVID SUZUKI FOUNDATION (davidsuzuki.org): Founded in 1990, the David Suzuki Foundation is a national, bilingual non-profit organization headquartered in Vancouver, with offices in Toronto and Montreal. Through evidence-based research, education and policy analysis, we work to conserve and protect the natural environment, and help create a sustainable Canada. 

    -30-

    For more information or to request an interview, please contact:

    Midhat Moini, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca

    Denis Agar, Metro Vancouver Transit Riders, denis@movementyvr.ca 

    Brandon Wei, David Suzuki Foundation, bwei@davidsuzuki.org 

    The post Joint Statement on Looming Public Transit Service Cuts in Metro Vancouver appeared first on Environmental Defence.

    This post was originally published on Environmental Defence.

  • Joint Statement: Environmental Groups, Transit Advocates React to New Federal Public Transit Program

    ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE, TTC RIDERS, METRO VANCOUVER TRANSIT RIDERS, DAVID SUZUKI FOUNDATION, ÉQUITERRE

    Ottawa | Traditional, unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg People – today, the federal government unveiled the details of their next-generation public transit infrastructure funding program, the Canada Public Transit Fund (also known as the Permanent Public Transit Fund). Environmental NGOs and Public Transit Rider groups react to the details of the program, noting their disappointment that the program does not include much-needed funding for public transit operations, and the fund will not become available until 2026, after the next federal election. 

    “Today the federal government announced a public transit funding program that doesn’t actually fund transit service. A lack of public transit operating funding means buses don’t show up on time, riders spend more time waiting and fares continue to climb faster than inflation. It will result in continued growth of transit vehicle fleets that cities can’t actually afford to put into service. It doubles down on a strategy that has so far failed to actually increase transit service levels. When Canadians can’t rely on public transit service, they pay more by being forced to drive a car, even if they can’t afford one. Saying ‘no’ to operations funding doesn’t result in savings for the government, it means Canadians end up paying the cost in the form of lost time, lost wages, lost opportunities, higher transportation costs, higher carbon emissions and a worse quality of life,” Nate Wallace, Environmental Defence’s Clean Transportation Program Manager, said. 

    “We are concerned that Prime Minister Trudeau made an announcement at a facility that maintains aging Line 2 subway trains, but did not provide certainty that federal funding for new Line 2 subway trains will come through when it’s needed. The Permanent Public Transit Fund would be even better news if it began immediately and ensured that subway trains could run as frequently as possible. That’s why we are asking the federal government to make the Permanent Public Transit Fund flexible so that cities can use it to operate more frequent transit service.” Shelagh Pizey-Allen, Executive Director of TTC Riders said.

    “To transit riders, it feels like this funding announcement is taking place in a parallel universe. Capital funding to build transit will be crucial for future generations, but what about the people that are riding transit today? The ones that are constantly stuck in congested, overcrowded buses? When is our funding announcement? Riders and agencies have been asking for operating funding to run more buses but each level of government keeps pointing at each other. One million people ride transit in Metro Vancouver at least once a week, almost 40% of the region. Route 49 alone moves twice as many people as VIA Rail Canada. How crowded does transit have to get before it becomes a political priority?” Denis Agar, Executive Director of Movement: Metro Vancouver Transit Riders said.

    “We are pleased that the government will make transit funding a permanent feature of federal budgets. But we do wish the new Fund covered the costs of day-to-day transit operations such as hiring bus drivers. Without this operations funding it will be hard for transit agencies to grow service at the pace required by the climate crisis. Canada should aim to double public transit ridership by 2035. And that means money from the new Fund should start flowing right away, not in 2026.” Gideon Forman, Climate Change and Transportation Policy Analyst at the David Suzuki Foundation said. 

    “While Canadian municipalities are responding to the housing crisis, governments must seize the opportunity to match new housing units with new affordable, efficient and reliable public transit services. The more we delay the required investments in public transit the bigger the congestion, safety and pollution problems grow. Investing in transit is investing in people and the future of our municipalities. Today’s announcement is welcome but in the short term the federal government needs to re-engage on operations funding with provincial governments and municipalities.” Marc-André Viau, Director of Government Relations at Équiterre said. 

    Environmental Defence Backgrounder:

    https://environmentaldefence.ca/report/permanent-public-transit-fund/ 

    PMO Press Release:

    https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2024/07/17/largest-public-transit-investment-canadian-hist

    Federal Government Backgrounder:

    https://www.canada.ca/en/office-infrastructure/news/2024/07/backgrounder-federal-government-launches-the-canada-public-transit-fund-investing-in-public-transit-needs-across-canada.html

    – 30 –

    For more information or to request an interview, please contact:

    Karishma Porwal, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca

    For French inquiries: Anthony Côté-Leduc, Équiterre, acoteleduc@equiterre.org 

    The post Joint Statement: Environmental Groups, Transit Advocates React to New Federal Public Transit Program appeared first on Environmental Defence.

    This post was originally published on Environmental Defence.

  • Joint Statement: The Chemical Industry’s Influence is Dismantling Canada’s PFAS Class Listing

    ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE, ECOJUSTICE, CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF PHYSICIANS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, BREAST CANCER ACTION QUEBEC

    Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – In May 2023, the federal government proposed listing the entire class of PFAS as ‘toxic’ under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA). Listing PFAS as a class unlocks the government’s ability to pursue regulatory measures that could restrict and ban these highly hazardous ‘forever chemicals’. Today, the government walked back its proposal by removing fluoropolymer substances—a form of PFAS widely used in products such as plastics and textiles—from the proposed class. In addition to weakening Canada’s approach to addressing these global pollutants, it sets the regulatory timelines back by months, meaning people living in Canada continue to be left waiting for necessary federal action to protect them from these ubiquitous and persistent toxic pollutants. This is not a step forward, as Canada claims, but a step backward in addressing PFAS.

    Cassie Barker, Senior Program Manager for Toxics at Environmental Defence said:

    “It’s disappointing that, as more and more evidence of the harms of PFAS is emerging, Canada is dragging out our urgently needed PFAS phaseout. This massive class of persistent ‘forever chemicals’ is hurting the environment and making people sick. While other jurisdictions are moving forward on tackling PFAS, Canada is caving to the chemical industry’s push to keep profiting off of harm.”

    Elaine MacDonald, Healthy Communities Program Director at Ecojustice said: 

    “The chemical industry has falsely claimed that PFAS are safe while hiding the harms of PFAS for decades. As scientists attempt to identify what PFAS are in the marketplace, hidden in our products and contaminating our drinking water, the industry continues to interfere with and delay attempts to regulate PFAS by making false safety claims and misleading justifications regarding the use of PFAS.”

    Dr. Lyndia Dernis, anaesthetist, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, said:

    “Each day that action on PFAS is delayed, is another day where people are faced with the risk of potential harm to their health from this class of ubiquitous “forever chemicals.” Delays result in an increased burden of future illnesses and deaths with adverse impacts financially, emotionally, and on health care system capacity. CAPE championed changes to CEPA for the prioritization of the most toxic substances and any weakening on PFAS in response to industry pressure is a backward step for public health and environmental justice.”

    Jennifer Beeman, Programs and Advocacy Coordinator, Breast Cancer Action Quebec, said: 

    “Regulating PFAS as a class is essential for the protection of public health. Despite the world’s leading PFAS scientists pushing regulators to deal with this enormous group of forever chemicals as one class, the federal government has reissued its risk assessment of PFAS to exclude fluoropolymers. The development of this regulatory process has been underway for three years and will continue to drag on with additional rounds of consultation and delay tactics from industry lobbyists. The federal government must resist industry’s false claims, continue to hold its PFAS class definition, and protect the regulatory process from industry meddling. Industry is unable to provide safety data on the full lifecycle of fluoropolymers. Precaution must drive protective regulation, not powerful lobbying interests intent on continuing to pollute while the rest of us pay the price.“

    Background: 

    • PFAS are a class of nearly 15,000 chemicals that do not break down due to their strong fluorine-carbon bond.
    • Industry has known about the harms of this class of PFAS chemicals for decades, and hidden their data from regulators and the public. While industry makes billions in PFAS profits, the world incurs trillions in associated health and cleanup costs. The estimated cost to Canada is up to $9 billion.
    • 98% of people in Canada have PFAS in their blood.
    • PFAS is present in the air, rain, species, atmosphere and water across the Great Lakes basin, which provides drinking water for 60 million people.
    • PFAS harm our health, and have been linked to cardiovascular mortality and cancers and risks for testicular cancer, liver damage, low infant birth weight, thyroid disease, immune system effects and asthma. Doctors are now being trained on how to identify and treat PFAS exposed patients.
    • Youth and people of Northern First Nations bear greater harms and exposures, and firefighters are dying of PFAS-related cancers at higher rates.
    • Fluoropolymers are among the largest production and applications of PFAS. They are used in plastic products and found in recycled plastic content and are a significant and well-documented source of environmental contamination and greenhouse gas emissions. Fluoropolymers are incorporated into textiles, cookware, and electronics and also form in plastic products and packaging, including food containers, that have been fluorinated to make the plastic function as desired.
    • Industry’s claims of broad fluoropolymer safety have not been demonstrated, particularly in its production, processing and application contexts where they can produce and release known harmful PFAS such as PFOA.
    • This analysis states that there is “no scientific rationale for concluding that fluoropolymers are of low concern for environmental and human health.”
    • Recent children’s gloves testing shows that fluoropolymer-coated and PFOA-forming products are being sold in Canada.
    • PFAS are absorbed through the skin at higher levels than previously thought.
    • 4 out of 5 people in Canada want PFAS regulatory action, according to our recent polling.
    • Food contact products have been found to contain PFAS.
    • Many brands have already moved away from PFAS in their products.
    • In June, BC launched a class-action suit against 12 PFAS producers seeking costs for the massive cleanup and drinking water treatment costs they face. They join US federal and state governments in seeking to holding polluters accountable.
    • Other jurisdictions (US, EU) are driving product-based prohibitions and binding drinking water standards. They are rejecting biased industry science and elevating the scientific consensus on this issue.
    • Comprehensive action on PFAS, including fluoropolymers, will be essential to the chemicals of concern work underway in the Global Plastics Treaty, which requires both Canada’s leadership and readiness for national implementation.
    • The class of PFAS is also highlighted in the most recent G7 communique as a priority, and Canada will host the G7 in 2025.

    Read our backgrounder for more information 

    ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.

    – 30 –

    For more information or to request an interview, please contact:

    Lauren Thomas, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca

    Reykia Fick, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE), media@cape.ca

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  • More Trash for Ontario’s Lakes, Rivers and Communities: Cancelling Planned Deposit Return Program for Non-alcoholic Drinks Runs Counter to Public Opinion and Environmental Interests

    Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia - March 16, 2016: Garbage and plastic bottles on a beach left in Kota Kinabalu beach in Sabah Borneo, Malaysia. Just like many Asian countries, Malaysia have problems with waste management due to ignorance and low awareness.

    Statement from Ashley Wallis, Associate Director, on Ontario’s decision to end work on new deposit return system for non-alcoholic beverage containers

    Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – The announcement that Ontario is scrapping plans to launch a deposit return system for non-alcoholic beverage containers epitomizes a government prioritizing private greed over public good. This is a government bowing to pressure from the Retail Council of Canada and its members, like Loblaw and Costco, instead of listening to the public and beverage companies.

    Last spring, beverage companies proposed a “pop can tax” to fund what would have been an ineffective public space recycling program. Rightfully, the province opposed the scheme and established a working group to explore the implementation of deposit return—a well-established, cost-effective and proven best practice for beverage container recycling. But now it appears that the last 12 months have been a waste of time that delayed action and will result in billions of bottles and cans ending up in landfills or the environment.

    Eighty-one per cent of Ontarians want a deposit return program for pop, juice, water and other non-alcoholic drink containers. This is a common-sense solution to the problem of bottles and cans littered in parks, along roadways and in our lakes. Shame on the Ontario government for such a betrayal of the public interest.

    Background:

    ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.

    – 30 –

    For more information or to request an interview, please contact:

    Lauren Thomas, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca

    The post More Trash for Ontario’s Lakes, Rivers and Communities: Cancelling Planned Deposit Return Program for Non-alcoholic Drinks Runs Counter to Public Opinion and Environmental Interests appeared first on Environmental Defence.

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  • Federal Funding for New Subway Trains Urgently Needed: Transit Groups

    inside of TTC subway

    ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE, TTCRIDERS

    Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – TTCriders, a membership-based transit advocacy organization, and Environmental Defence, released the following statement in response to Premier Doug Ford and Unifor National President Lana Payne’s statement urging federal funding for TTC subway trains:

    “Transit users in Toronto need a reliable TTC to get them to school and work on time. If the federal government does not chip in their share of funding for new subway trains soon, subway service will become less reliable and the TTC will need to spend at least $1.6 billion on overhauling and extending the life of existing trains.

    Ordering new subway trains is not like ordering something on Amazon. New trains will take years to build and deliver, but Line 2 subway trains will start reaching the end of their design life in 2026.

    That’s why the federal government must chip in as soon as possible to match provincial and city funding for new trains, and speed up the Permanent Public Transit Fund. The City of Toronto and Province of Ontario have been ready to chip in their share of funding for 7 months.

    The federal government has delayed the Permanent Public Transit Fund to 2026 — this is far too late. TTCriders and Environmental Defence have long called on the federal government to accelerate and expand this program to include operations funding, as it is crucial to meeting Canada’s climate goals.”

    – 30 –

    For more information or to request an interview, please contact:

    Karishma Porwal, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca

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  • Federal Funding for New Subway Trains Urgently Needed: Transit Groups

    inside of TTC subway

    ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE, TTCRIDERS

    Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – TTCriders, a membership-based transit advocacy organization, and Environmental Defence, released the following statement in response to Premier Doug Ford and Unifor National President Lana Payne’s statement urging federal funding for TTC subway trains:

    “Transit users in Toronto need a reliable TTC to get them to school and work on time. If the federal government does not chip in their share of funding for new subway trains soon, subway service will become less reliable and the TTC will need to spend at least $1.6 billion on overhauling and extending the life of existing trains.

    Ordering new subway trains is not like ordering something on Amazon. New trains will take years to build and deliver, but Line 2 subway trains will start reaching the end of their design life in 2026.

    That’s why the federal government must chip in as soon as possible to match provincial and city funding for new trains, and speed up the Permanent Public Transit Fund. The City of Toronto and Province of Ontario have been ready to chip in their share of funding for 7 months.

    The federal government has delayed the Permanent Public Transit Fund to 2026 — this is far too late. TTCriders and Environmental Defence have long called on the federal government to accelerate and expand this program to include operations funding, as it is crucial to meeting Canada’s climate goals.”

    – 30 –

    For more information or to request an interview, please contact:

    Karishma Porwal, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca

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    This post was originally published on Environmental Defence.

  • Forecast for Lake Erie: Another Year, Another Toxic Algal Bloom

    Statement by Ashley Wallis, Associate Director, on the NOAA’s “moderate to larger-than-moderate” Lake Erie HAB (Harmful Algal Bloom) forecast 2024

    Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) annual Lake Erie harmful algal bloom (HAB) forecast shows not enough is being done to save the lake.

    Algal blooms happen when algae grows out of control. Sometimes algae produce toxins, making the water unsafe to touch, drink, or be near. Other times, the blooms steal oxygen from the water and cause fish to die. Nutrient pollution – excessive amounts of phosphorus and nitrogen – causes algal blooms, so keeping nutrients out of the water is crucial to saving Lake Erie.

    Agriculture continues to be one of the largest sources of nutrient pollution into the lake. Rain and snowmelt flush fertilizers and manure off of farmland and into waterways where they fertilize algae instead of crops. While some farmers have participated in voluntary programs or made changes to the way they use their land to keep nutrients on their land and out of the water, the adoption rate of these best practices rarely hits 50 per cent.

    We need governments to recognize the critical role farmers play in maintaining healthy ecosystems and waters, and fund independent crop advisors and cost-share programs that help farmers pay for better equipment, conservation and naturalization projects. Farmers shouldn’t have to choose between their livelihood, or the health of the lake.

    We also need updated nutrient management laws that ensure the right fertilizer is applied at the right rate, the right time, and in the right place, and that hold growing industrial agricultural sectors, like greenhouses, to account.

    Lake Erie is set to experience another nasty, toxic algal bloom this summer – nearly a decade after Ontario, Ohio and Michigan agreed to take action to stop these blooms from becoming an annual occurrence. These governments committed to reducing nutrient pollution entering the western basin of Lake Erie by 40 per cent by 2025 – that’s next year. Yet, every summer the algae comes back, and there is no reason to think things are going to get better, unless governments step-up to modernize laws and invest in freshwater health.

    Background Information:

    – 30 –

    For more information or to request an interview, please contact:

    Karishma Porwal, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca

    The post Forecast for Lake Erie: Another Year, Another Toxic Algal Bloom appeared first on Environmental Defence.

    This post was originally published on Environmental Defence.

  • Forecast for Lake Erie: Another Year, Another Toxic Algal Bloom

    Statement by Ashley Wallis, Associate Director, on the NOAA’s “moderate to larger-than-moderate” Lake Erie HAB (Harmful Algal Bloom) forecast 2024

    Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) annual Lake Erie harmful algal bloom (HAB) forecast shows not enough is being done to save the lake.

    Algal blooms happen when algae grows out of control. Sometimes algae produce toxins, making the water unsafe to touch, drink, or be near. Other times, the blooms steal oxygen from the water and cause fish to die. Nutrient pollution – excessive amounts of phosphorus and nitrogen – causes algal blooms, so keeping nutrients out of the water is crucial to saving Lake Erie.

    Agriculture continues to be one of the largest sources of nutrient pollution into the lake. Rain and snowmelt flush fertilizers and manure off of farmland and into waterways where they fertilize algae instead of crops. While some farmers have participated in voluntary programs or made changes to the way they use their land to keep nutrients on their land and out of the water, the adoption rate of these best practices rarely hits 50 per cent.

    We need governments to recognize the critical role farmers play in maintaining healthy ecosystems and waters, and fund independent crop advisors and cost-share programs that help farmers pay for better equipment, conservation and naturalization projects. Farmers shouldn’t have to choose between their livelihood, or the health of the lake.

    We also need updated nutrient management laws that ensure the right fertilizer is applied at the right rate, the right time, and in the right place, and that hold growing industrial agricultural sectors, like greenhouses, to account.

    Lake Erie is set to experience another nasty, toxic algal bloom this summer – nearly a decade after Ontario, Ohio and Michigan agreed to take action to stop these blooms from becoming an annual occurrence. These governments committed to reducing nutrient pollution entering the western basin of Lake Erie by 40 per cent by 2025 – that’s next year. Yet, every summer the algae comes back, and there is no reason to think things are going to get better, unless governments step-up to modernize laws and invest in freshwater health.

    Background Information:

    – 30 –

    For more information or to request an interview, please contact:

    Karishma Porwal, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca

    The post Forecast for Lake Erie: Another Year, Another Toxic Algal Bloom appeared first on Environmental Defence.

    This post was originally published on Environmental Defence.

  • Statement: Federal Government Provides Massive Subsidy to LNG

    Subsidy written

    Statement by Julia Levin, Associate Director, National Climate

    Ottawa | Traditional, unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg People – Yesterday crown corporation Export Development Canada confirmed it will provide $500 million for Cedar LNG. 

    This move contradicts the federal government’s commitment to the Canadian public about ending the use of public money to fund fossil fuels.  

    Communities across the country and the world are facing the harsh and deadly impacts of the climate crisis. The science is clear, we need to stop expanding fossil fuels. We cannot address the climate crisis as long as governments continue to fund its very cause. Instead, governments in Canada should be using public money to transition to renewable energy, which is key to a safer, more affordable and healthier future. 

    More information

    • Earlier this month, a coalition of concerned environmental organizations had sent a letter to Minister Freeland and Mairead Lavery, President and CEO of Export Development Canada, urging them to reject the financing proposal. 
    • The Government of Canada first committed to ending domestic public financing for fossil fuels in 2021 and is currently in the process of developing a policy to do so. It has repeatedly reiterated its commitment to publish this policy in the coming months, by fall 2024, most recently articulated in April in Budget 2024.
    • According to Clean Energy Canada, Cedar LNG will generate over 9 million tonnes of climate pollution each year.

    – 30 –

    For more information or to request an interview, please contact:

    Midhat Moini, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca

     

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  • Environmental Defence Welcomes the Election of Naheed Nenshi as Leader of the Alberta NDP

    Statement by Stephen Legault, Senior Manager, Alberta Energy Transition

    Canmore | Traditional territories of the Treaty 7 Nations – Environmental Defence welcomes the election of former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi as leader of the Alberta NDP and as Official Opposition Leader in the Alberta legislature. We congratulate all participants in the leadership contest and acknowledge their important service to Albertans.

    Albertans want and need leadership to address the climate crisis, energy affordability, and the fair and unbiased development of the renewable energy industry. All political parties can and should adopt strong policies to reduce our province’s greenhouse gas emissions, while building a robust green energy sector that supports Albertans and their communities.

    65 per cent of Albertans support reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and 70 per cent believe that the Alberta economy is too dependent on fossil fuels. (Brown, 2023) We hope Leader Nenshi will quickly and comprehensively outline how a future Alberta NDP government will address climate change and its economic, environmental and social impacts.

    Environmental Defence looks forward to working with Naheed Nenshi, his caucus and all members of the Alberta legislature assembly to strengthen our economy and address the climate crisis.

    ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.

    – 30 –

    For more information or to request an interview, please contact:

    Allen Braude, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca

     

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  • STATEMENT: Pathways Alliance Scrubbing its Web and Social Media Presence in Response to Bill C-59

    Statement by Emilia Belliveau, Energy Transition Program Manager

    Montréal/Tiohtià:ke | Traditional, unceded lands of the Kanien’kehá:ka/Mohawk Nation, a gathering place for many First Nations, including the Anishinaabeg – Late last night, the Pathways Alliance scrubbed its website and social media in response to the passage of Bill C-59. This bill includes measures that help the Competition Bureau crack down on greenwashing by requiring companies to back up their environmental claims with solid proof.

    The fact that Pathways Alliance has taken such drastic action shows that they know they don’t have evidence to support the story they’re selling on carbon capture, and that its member companies’ business plans don’t align with a net-zero future.

    It’s clear that rules to rein in greenwashing are needed, and that C-59 is doing its job effectively if organizations like the Pathways Alliance are scrambling to take down their unsubstantiated environmental claims and rethinking their misleading advertising plans.

    We look forward to seeing how this legislation reshapes the corporate landscape and holds companies accountable for their green promises.

    Background Information:

    • The Pathways Alliance is a group of six of Canada’s largest oil sands producers. The group has been promoting itself and its oil sands company members as taking the initiative to fight climate change in multimillion-dollar advertising campaigns. The Competition Bureau is currently investigating one of their advertising campaigns for greenwashing. In 2023 they were the most active lobbyist in the fossil fuel sector, and are seeking over $15 billion in federal subsidies.
    • The Pathways Alliance claims to be able to address their emissions through the use of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology while continuing to expand production. According to a recent report by InfluenceMap, “Despite overwhelming advocacy for CCS, Pathways has raised contradictory concerns about the reliability of CCS technologies in more direct communications with policymakers and has opposed government mandates for CCS.” An International Energy Agency report highlights that CCS cannot be used to maintain the status quo. “Continuing with business-as-usual for oil & gas while hoping a vast deployment of carbon capture will cut the emissions is fantasy,” IEA executive director Fatih Birol said in late November 2023.
    • Bill C-59 was passed in May and is now being studied by the Senate. Before it passed the House of Commons, important amendments were introduced. One change was to extend the obligation on companies to provide evidence for their environmental claims to include general claims about a company and their activities. Previously it had been limited to specific product claims. This is critical as more companies rely on broad sustainability values-based branding and vague climate-supporting statements, rather than the product they’re marketing or the merits of their environmental or climate record. The Pathways Alliance has sent a letter to the members of the Senate voicing their concerns over the greenwashing requirements in Bill C-59.

    ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.

    – 30 –

    For more information or to request an interview, please contact:

    Midhat Moini, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca

     

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  • Statement: Environmental Defence celebrates the federal government’s adoption of Bill C-50, the Sustainable Jobs Act

    Statement by Aliénor Rougeot, Climate and Energy Program Manager

    Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – We’re pleased that Canada is embracing the opportunities of a low-carbon future by passing the Sustainable Jobs Act, Bill C-50. Thanks to this bill, workers and communities impacted by the energy transition will be given the tools they need to succeed in the green economy. 

    The world is moving away from fossil fuels, towards clean energy, which gives Canada a unique chance to be a leader in innovation, sustainability and community well-being. Yet, previous unmanaged economic transitions have shown us how being unprepared can instead lead to painful job losses and income disruptions.

    By adopting the Sustainable Jobs Act, the federal government is showcasing leadership by ensuring we have a prepared workforce and resilient communities that can embrace the economic shift. 

    The strength of this legislation is that it connects impacted groups with decision-makers, ensuring policies reflect the needs of workers, Indigenous communities, and businesses. It also legally ties Canada’s climate strategy to its workforce and economic development plans to ensure that Canada’s assets are used effectively to achieve our climate goals.

    Importantly, the Sustainable Jobs Act gives stakeholders more power to keep the government accountable to its commitments to impacted workers and communities. For example, it sets clear rules for what should be in the five-year action plans, requires regular reporting, and outlines mechanisms for course correction when necessary.

    We urge the government to get to work right away by setting up the Secretariat and Council over the summer. The commitments made through this legislation will then need to be reflected in the next federal budget, through well-funded support programs and investments to stimulate job creation in sustainable sectors. 

    Finally, the Sustainable Jobs Act can not become another avenue for fossil fuel greenwashing. Sustainable jobs are not found in false solutions like LNG, carbon capture, and hydrogen, which have an uncertain economic future and will not help Canada meet its climate goals. The fossil fuels companies that caused the crisis should not be on the Partnership Council where they will only continue using their distract and delay tactics to stall progress. 

    Background: 

    • Bill C-50, the Sustainable Jobs Act, was tabled in the House of Commons in June 2023. The bill legally commits the federal government to developing action plans every five years to accelerate the creation of good jobs in sustainable sectors and equip workers with the skills, income support and information they need to access these jobs. Countries leading the transition to a green economy have similar legislation in place. 
    • Environmental and labour experts worked with the members of the Natural Resources House committee to amend the legislation to improve requirements on transparency, and accountability, and to make more explicit the ties between this legislation and Canada’s climate goals. As a result, the bill includes robust reporting requirements, an advisory committee with a fair representation of impacted groups, and legal alignment with Canada’s climate goals. 
    • The legislation faced significant challenges in the House of Commons as Members from the official opposition proposed over 22,000 amendments. In December 2023, the government used a motion to force the committee to make a decision on the bill and send it back to the House for Report Stage and Third Reading. 
    • Following a study in two separate Senate committees, the Bill passed Third Reading and was therefore adopted by the Senate today without further amendments. It will now receive Royal Assent to become law. 

    ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.

    – 30 –

    For more information or to request an interview, please contact:

    Alex Ross, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca

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  • Environmental Defence Welcomes Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Analysis on the Economic Impacts of Carbon Pricing

    Statement by Aly Hyder Ali, Oil and Gas Program Manager

    Ottawa | Traditional, unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg People –We welcome the analysis released today from Environment and Climate Change Canada on the economic impacts of the consumer fuel charge and the industrial carbon pricing mechanism. It shouldn’t come as any surprise that carbon pricing is projected to slightly reduce GDP in this analysis. But this analysis doesn’t provide a complete picture. It doesn’t compare the economic impacts of carbon pricing versus other policies, nor does it compare it to the costs of inaction, that is, doing nothing about climate change.  

    Climate change is here, now, and people across the country are facing its disastrous impacts from raging wildfires to droughts and floods. The insured cost for last year’s extreme weather events, including wildfires, was over $3 billion. If we fail to curb climate change, the annual costs to Canada’s economy could be as high as $35 billion, with low-income and other marginalized communities being the worst affected. Virtually every study into this matter finds that the costs of inaction far exceed the costs of fighting climate change.  

    Climate action is delivering benefits to the Canadian economy as well, as the many recent announcements about new electric vehicle manufacturing and assembly plants clearly attest to.  

    Although the carbon tax can reduce a third of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, it isn’t enough on its own to prevent the worst impacts of climate change on Canadians. We need additional policies to bridge the gap. Canada needs to urgently move forward with the oil and gas emissions cap and the clean electricity regulations, which have long been in development. These policies were promised years ago and with every delay, the window to prevent the worst climate disasters closes even more. 

    The federal government has claimed to be serious in its efforts to fight climate change. It must now show us by building on the carbon tax and putting forth other climate policies to hold Canada’s biggest polluters responsible. And if critics want to complain about the costs of any of the policies in place or those in development, they should be transparent about what they would do instead, and how their proposals stack up against Canada’s current path forward.  

    ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.

    – 30 –

    For more information or to request an interview, please contact:

    Allen Braude, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca

    The post Environmental Defence Welcomes Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Analysis on the Economic Impacts of Carbon Pricing appeared first on Environmental Defence.

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  • Canada’s big banks face MPs over their financing of the climate crisis

    ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE, CHANGE COURSE, ECOJUSTICE, FOR OUR KIDS, GREENPEACE CANADA, KEEPERS OF THE WATER, LEADNOW, STAND.EARTH

    OTTAWA | Traditional, unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg People –  The House of Commons Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development (ENVI) will be hearing from the CEO’s of Canada’s Big Five banks (Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), Toronto Dominion Bank (TD), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), Bank of Montreal (BMO) and Scotiabank, as part of its study of the impact of the Canadian financial system on the climate and the environment.

    Ecojustice, Greenpeace Canada, Stand.earth, Environmental Defence Canada, Keepers of the Water, Leadnow, For Our Kids, and Change Course call on the five major Canadian banks to take responsibility for the impact of their investments in fossil fuels, which are exacerbating the climate crisis.

    This unprecedented summons follows mounting evidence that Canadian financial institutions are fueling the climate crisis while hiding behind empty “Net Zero” pledges.

    Canadian banks remain among the biggest backers of fossil fuels in the world and are lagging behind in clean energy financing. RBC is under investigation by Canada’s Competition Bureau for allegations of “greenwashing”. Securities complaints in Ontario and Quebec for misleading information about their sustainable financing activities have also been filed against all of the Big Five.

    Canadian banks’ support for fossil fuels is undermining Canada’s prospects of meeting its greenhouse gas targets, exposing the whole economy to unacceptable climate risk, and missing out on a golden opportunity to profit from the energy transition. Now more than ever, the financial industry must be aligned with the country’s climate objectives. RBC, TD, CIBC, BMO and Scotiabank must commit to being part of the solution. 

    The work of the ENVI Committee is running in parallel with the Senate’s study of Bill S-243, the Climate-Aligned Finance Act (CAFA). Testimony from renowned experts highlighted the growing importance of sustainable finance internationally, the urgency of aligning finance and climate, and the lack of progress on these issues in the Canadian financial and political ecosystem.

    Former Governor of the Bank of Canada, Mark Carney’s testimony to the Senate Standing Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce warned that Canada’s financial sector “significantly lag[s] international peers” in climate disclosures and that “Canada risks falling behind” on transition planning. The sector’s lack of regulation represents a real risk to Canada’s competitiveness to attract the sustainable finance needed to future-proof our economy.

    If Canadian banks are serious about their transition, they need to take responsibility for the environmental and climate impact of their investments. They must also support the adoption of a framework that aligns their activities with Canada’s climate commitments such as CAFA.

    Quotes From Partners:  

    Karine Péloffy, Sustainable Finance Project Lead at Ecojustice:

    “It’s up to Canadian banks to demonstrate to the public that they are part of the solution. The Banking on Climate Chaos report unequivocally illustrates their failure to take responsibility for their exposure to fossil fuels, despite their promises to do so. The Big Five banks have a choice: either work with legislators to chart a change of course or have new laws – like the Climate-Aligned Finance Act –imposed on them.”

    Richard Brooks, Climate Finance Director at Stand.earth: 

    “The House of Commons summoning the CEOs of Canada’s biggest fossil fuel financing banks to answer for continued financing of dirty industries, particularly oil and gas, is unprecedented. As we experience increasingly year-round extreme weather enabled by these banks’ over-financing of fossil fuels, this hearing must escalate accountability for climate damages that communities are enduring coast-to-coast. Just as Big Tobacco and Big Oil hearings led to increased regulation and accountability, this kicks-off moving toward financial regulations for Canadian banks to be part of climate solutions and stop worsening the crisis.”

    Keith Stewart, Senior Energy Strategist at Greenpeace Canada: 

    “We would be fools to believe that banks are going to do the right thing on climate change out of the goodness of their hearts, any more than we would expect them to pay their taxes if we made that optional. The time for asking politely is over. We need our elected officials to regulate the banks so that the immense financial resources they control help, rather than hinder, in the fight against the wildfires, floods and ever-more extreme storms that come with unchecked climate change.”

    Julie Segal, Senior Manager, Climate Finance at Environmental Defence Canada:

    “While each of the Canadian banks have climate commitments, none of them have a commensurate plan of action. The investments they make are holding the country back from climate progress and, until now, there had been no signs they would be held to account. The House of Commons summoning the banks’ CEOs to explain their overinvestment in oil and gas, and underinvestment in clean climate solutions, is momentous. New rules are needed to ensure the banks start helping instead of hindering our climate progress, like by implementing the Climate-Aligned Finance Act, and requiring credible plans from these banks to cut emissions and build resilience.”

    Tori Cress, Communications Manager at Keepers of the Water:

    “For Indigenous Peoples, banks’ investment in tar sands development means funding climate chaos, displacement, deforestation, poisonous water, toxic tailings, cancer, criminalization, and the further colonization of our bodies, minds, and homelands. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development (ENVI) hearing is an opportunity for this committee to cut through banks’ greenwashing and rewashing—public relations attempts to use climate action and the reconciliation project to distract from the financing of fossil fuels and human and Indigenous rights violations. This is a unique moment for immediate, meaningful government intervention and the centring of Indigenous traditional knowledge in financial decision-making, where there’s still hope for a balanced and justice-led energy transition for generations to come.”

    Gabrielle Willms, Organizer at For Our Kids: As families face another summer of wildfires, drought and extreme weather events and struggle with the rising cost of living, parents are fed up with Canada’s big banks continuing to fund the climate crisis. Since the Paris Agreement in 2015, Canada’s 5 big banks have invested over $1.1 trillion in fossil fuels, all while greenwashing their business and misleading regular Canadians about their climate commitments. Parents want to see real accountability from banks, investment in climate solutions and strong financial policy to bring our financial system in line with a green, just future for our kids. 

    Levi Clarkson, Campus Organizer at Change Course: Students and young people are deeply concerned about our futures, which are being wrecked by the Big 5 Canadian banks’ unchecked financing of fossil fuel extraction projects that are driving the climate crisis. Until  big banks take tangible action to divest from fossil fuels and stop financing projects that violate Indigenous rights across the globe, they are not welcome on our campuses. If the Canadian government truly cares about young people, then we urge them to act swiftly to ensure that Canadian banks change course and stop funding climate chaos. 

    Cheryl Randall, Campaigns Manager at Leadnow: 

    This hearing is a crucial moment to shine a spotlight on Canada’s biggest banks – the world’s biggest financiers of the fossil fuel industry – and their complicity in fuelling the climate crisis. As we face the prospect of Canada’s most intense wildfire season and the stay-inside advisories, evacuations, lost homes & communities that will follow, Canada’s banks’ addiction to fossil fuels is increasingly impossible to justify. The time for hoping and praying that banks act to meet Canada’s climate commitments is over. The government needs to act and ensure our banks are in line with sustainable finance practices.

    – 30 – 

    About Ecojustice

    Ecojustice uses the power of the law to defend nature, combat climate change and fight for a healthy environment. Its strategic, public interest lawsuits and advocacy lead to precedent-setting court decisions, law and policy that deliver lasting solutions to Canada’s most urgent environmental problems. As Canada’s largest environmental law charity, Ecojustice operates offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa and Halifax.

    About Stand.earth

    Stand.earth (formerly ForestEthics) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with offices in Canada and the United States that is known for its groundbreaking research and successful corporate and citizen engagement campaigns to create new policies and industry standards in protecting forests, supporting the rights of Indigenous peoples, and protecting the climate. Visit us at www.stand.earth and follow us on LinkedIn @standearth.

    About Greenpeace Canada
    Greenpeace Canada is an independent campaigning organization that uses peaceful protest and creative confrontation to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green, just, and joyful future.

    About Environmental Defence:

    Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry, and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate, and healthy communities.

    About Keepers of the Water: 

    Keepers of the Water are First Nations, Métis, Inuit, environmental groups, concerned citizens, and communities working together for the protection of water, air, land, and all living things within the Arctic Ocean Drainage Basin.

    About For Our Kids:

    For Our Kids is a parent-led network of volunteers, driven to take climate action for our kids, grandkids, and future generations. 

    About Change Course:

    Change Course is a youth-led nonprofit based in so-called Canada. We support grassroots organizing on campuses and in communities, targeting fossil fuel funding banks, and advocating for climate justice and Indigenous Sovereignty. Together we are demanding an end to all financial support for the fossil fuel industry.

    About Leadnow:

    Leadnow is a people-powered movement fighting for a better Canada. We envision a just, sustainable, and equitable Canada, built and defended through the democratic power of an engaged public and we work to build and defend progressive values at the intersection of climate and economic justice.

    For media inquiries :

    Network wide Kari Vierimaa, KAPOW Communications
    kari@kapowcomms.com

    Karine Péloffy, Project Lead – Sustainable Finance | Ecojustice kpeloffy@ecojustice.ca

    Alex Ross, Communications Manager, Environmental Defence aross@environmentaldefence.ca

    Lindsay Meiman, Media Director, Stand.earth                                  lindsay@stand.earth

    Keith Stewart, Senior Energy Strategist, Greenpeace Canada kstewart@greenpeace.org

    Tori Cress, Communications Manager, Keepers of the Water communications@keepersofthewater.ca

    The post Canada’s big banks face MPs over their financing of the climate crisis appeared first on Environmental Defence.

    This post was originally published on Environmental Defence.

  • STATEMENT: Big Oil’s testimony on emissions reduction misses the big picture 

    Statement by Emilia Belliveau, Energy Transition Program Manager

    Ottawa | Traditional, unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg People – At today’s Parliamentary Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development (ENVI), Members of Parliament grilled the fossil fuel industry about their climate pollution. The oil and gas CEOs tried to deflect responsibility for their massive greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), but the writing is on the wall for these Climate Villains: you can’t make oil and gas “green”.

    Oil and gas CEOs claim to care about climate change, but their actions paint a different picture. Oil and gas production remains the largest source of climate pollution in Canada, at 31% of the whole country’s emissions. Cenovus CEO Mr. McKenzie falsely claimed that emissions from the oil and gas industry peaked in 2017 when in reality they have continued to rise. Imperial Oil’s CEO Mr. Corson tried to draw focus on efforts to decrease the emissions intensity of oil production, while ignoring the fact that marginal improvements will not offset the growth in pollution from increased production. While Suncor’s Mr. Kruger referenced how emissions don’t stop at state borders, all the CEOs failed to acknowledge the global picture: we must phase out fossil fuels to fight the climate crisis.

    Jun 6, 2024. Photo: Environmental Defence Canada

    Even more revealing than their emissions record is that Big Oil spends millions of dollars on greenwashing ads to deceive the public and consistently lobbies against meaningful climate policy. In fact, during today’s hearing the CEOs lobbied against any rules that would limit their ability to pollute freely, including the proposed cap on emissions from their industry. Hypocritically, while CEOs like Mr. McKenzie acknowledged the benefits of Canada’s strong environmental regulations; he failed to include that his own company has continuously lobbied against those very same regulations – including 17 meetings this March alone.

    The CEOs were scrutinized for earning massive salaries and profits while taking no accountability for their pollution. Suncor CEO Mr. Kruger, who pocketed $36.8 million in his first year, failed to acknowledge the recent legal challenge against Suncor for their repeated violations of air pollution laws in Colorado.

    The CEOs, including Imperial’s Mr. Corson and Shell’s Ms. Pierce, repeatedly pointed to carbon capture as part of their climate plans. Yet behind closed doors, these companies admit that this is ineffective technology. That hasn’t stopped them from using it as an excuse to weaken climate progress and justify ongoing production.

    These tactics are not new. The industry has known for decades that their products contribute to global warming. Instead of addressing the scientific evidence, they have consistently worked to obstruct climate progress in order to protect their profits.

    We applaud the members of the ENVI Committee who asked tough questions and kept sight of the big picture of the climate crisis. Governments need to keep holding Big Oil accountable for its pollution and for the misinformation about climate change that companies have peddled for decades. This starts with putting in place strong rules to regulate pollution from the industry, like the proposed cap on their emissions, and a ban on fossil fuel advertising.

    Background Information:

    • CEOs representing some of Canada’s biggest oil and gas polluters were called to testify at the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development (ENVI) about their failure to bring down climate change-causing GHG emissions. The ENVI committee invited Mr. Rich Kruger, CEO of Suncor Energy Inc., Mr. Brad Corson, CEO of Imperial Oil Ltd., Mr. Jon McKenzie, CEO of Cenovus Energy Inc., Mrs. Susannah Pierce, President and Country Chair of Shell Canada Limited and Vice President of Emerging Energy Solutions, and Mr. Greg Ebel, CEO of Enbridge to explain how their activities are impacting Canada’s ability to meet its climate commitments. Ms. Harradence, Executive Vice President and President of Gas Distribution and Storage at Enbridge attended in place of Mr. Ebel. 
    • In recent decades, the increase in extreme wildfires in Western Canada and the United States has been directly linked to greenhouse gas emissions from the fossil fuel industry. Between 1986 and 2021, greenhouse gas emissions from 88 major fossil fuel producers and cement manufacturers were responsible for nearly 40 per cent of the area burned in Western Canada and the United States.
    • Many of these companies lobby the government heavily to oppose emissions reduction. For example, Cenovus, Shell Canada, Suncor, and Imperial Oil are members of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), which has been opposing the proposed cap on emissions for the oil and gas sector. CAPP sent letters to Minister Guilbeault in February and March of 2024 advocating for the withdrawal of the Emissions Cap. CAPP has consistently voiced criticism of the Emissions Cap in their public statements and advocacy. Additionally, the organization opposed methane regulation for the upstream oil and gas sector in comments submitted to the government in February 2024. CAPP was one of the most active lobbyists of the fossil fuel industry in 2023, recording 90 registered lobby meetings. 
    • The Pathways Alliance is being investigated by the Competition Bureau for greenwashing in their “Clear the Air” advertising campaign. Research published in the journal Energy Research and Social Science found the Pathways Alliance engaged in multiple instances of greenwashing in their advertisements, obscuring the oil and gas sector’s carbon pollution and the costs required to eliminate it.
    • Many fossil fuel companies, and in particular the members of the Pathways Alliance, claim to be able to address their emissions through the use of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology while continuing to expand production. According to a recent report by InfluenceMap, “Despite overwhelming advocacy for CCS, Pathways has raised contradictory concerns about the reliability of CCS technologies in more direct communications with policymakers and has opposed government mandates for CCS.” An International Energy Agency report highlights that CCS cannot be used to maintain the status quo. “Continuing with business-as-usual for oil & gas while hoping a vast deployment of carbon capture will cut the emissions is fantasy,” IEA executive director Fatih Birol said in late November 2023.  
    • The United States House Oversight Committee has been investigating Big Oil’s activities since 2021. The investigation has resulted in multiple reports confirming that oil and gas companies have been engaged in decades-long disinformation campaigns to mislead the public and obstruct climate action.  A similar investigation has yet to take place in Canada.

    For more information see our backgrounder.

    – 30 –

    For more information or to request an interview, please contact:

    Midhat Moini, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca

    The post STATEMENT: Big Oil’s testimony on emissions reduction misses the big picture  appeared first on Environmental Defence.

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  • Passage of Bill 185 Undermines the Integrity of all Future Development Approvals Outside Existing Built up Areas

    aerial shot of a suburb encroaching on a forested area

    “Third party” appeals limited to polluters, airports, and aggregate pits

    Statement from Phil Pothen, Land Use and Land Development program manager

    Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – Bill 185 effectively ends meaningful, independent oversight of development approvals outside existing built up areas. Ontarians can no longer have any confidence in the integrity of future decisions to extend suburban settlement boundaries, or to replace farms and natural areas with sprawl.

    As with the attack on the Greenbelt, the Ontario government is once again engineering a tangle of scandal, waste and environmental harm, that it –or its eventual successor– will need to clean up. Any government that is serious about solving the housing shortage and restoring Ontario’s reputation for clean government will need to start by revoking any approvals for settlement boundary expansion, low-density sprawl development or habitat destruction that are the product of this new planning regime, and start from scratch.

    Government MPPs could have prevented the wave of scandal, waste and destruction that is now likely to unfold by revising Bill 185 to prevent developer-initiated settlement boundary expansions. They could also have accepted proposed amendments that would have allowed farmers and independent watchdog groups to bring corruption-prone “greenfield” sprawl approvals to the Ontario Land Tribunal for scrutiny. Instead, the government used amendments to make Bill 185 worse. Last minute changes extend “third party” appeal rights for greenfield development only to aggregate pit developers and industrial polluters worried that nearby residents might bring attention to their pollution and may actually reopen the door for residential “NIMBY” landowners to continue blocking density and affordable housing within existing neighbourhoods.  

    ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry, and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate, and healthy communities.

    – 30 –

    For more information or to request an interview, please contact:
    Carolyn Townend, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca

    The post Passage of Bill 185 Undermines the Integrity of all Future Development Approvals Outside Existing Built up Areas appeared first on Environmental Defence.

    This post was originally published on Environmental Defence.

  • MEDIA ADVISORY/PHOTO OP: Environmental Defence Experts Available to Comment as Big Oil CEO testify to Parliamentary Committee

    Experts with banners and costumes to gather for a photo opportunity prior to the testimony of Big Oil CEOs

    Ottawa | Traditional, unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg People –On Thursday, June 6, the CEOs of a number of oil and gas companies will testify in front of the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development (ENVI). The committee invited Mr. Rich Kruger, CEO of Suncor Energy Inc., Mr. Brad Corson, CEO of Imperial Oil Ltd., Mr. Jon McKenzie, CEO of Cenovus Energy Inc., Mrs. Susannah Pierce, President and Country Chair of Shell Canada Limited and Vice President of Emerging Energy Solutions, and Mr. Greg Ebel, CEO of Enbridge to appear to explain how their activities are impacting Canada’s ability to meet its climate commitments. Experts will be available to provide commentary both before and following the testimony.

    Before the hearing takes place, staff from Environmental Defence experts and other civil society organizations will gather for a photo opportunity outside the building where the hearing will take place. Experts will be present at the photo opportunity.

    WHAT: Experts available for comment on the testimony by oil and gas CEOs at the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development (ENVI). There is also a Photo Opportunity prior to the ENVI hearing where oil and gas CEOs have been called to testify.

    WHO: Emilia Beliveau, Energy Transition Program Manager, Environmental Defence

    Please note that interviews are available in English only.

    WHERE: Live in Ottawa at the Wellington Building, 197 Sparks Street, or by telephone or video.

    WHEN: Thursday, June 6th: Photo op from 2:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. outside the Wellington Building. The hearing will be from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Expert reaction following the hearing.

    A media backgrounder about the oil and gas CEOs is available here.

    ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.

    – 30 –

    For more information or to request an interview, please contact:

    Midhat Moini, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca

    The post MEDIA ADVISORY/PHOTO OP: Environmental Defence Experts Available to Comment as Big Oil CEO testify to Parliamentary Committee appeared first on Environmental Defence.

    This post was originally published on Environmental Defence.

  • Statement in response to the Government of Alberta’s attack on greenwashing amendments in Bill C-59 

    Statement by Emilia Belliveau, Energy Transition Program Manager

    Montréal/Tiohtià:ke | Traditional, unceded lands of the Kanien’kehá:ka/Mohawk Nation, a gathering place for many First Nations, including the Anishinaabeg – We are disappointed that the Government of Alberta is attacking the federal government’s attempts to clamp down on greenwashing. On May 28th the House of Commons passed Bill C-59, which helps prevent greenwashing by requiring companies to provide evidence for their environmental claims. In response, Alberta’s  Minister of Environment and Protected Areas, Rebecca Schulz, attacked the bill, referring to it as an “undemocratic gag order.” Minister Schulz’s statement tries to create controversy out of legislation that simply demands companies tell the truth.

    We’re not buying it. Greenwashing is a pervasive issue, and there should be consequences for companies lying about their green credentials. The important amendments made to Bill C-59 will help protect consumers from greenwashing and help tackle misinformation about the causes of and solutions to climate change. Alberta should not be siding with big polluters over the public.

    Requiring companies to be able to prove their green claims is not a gag order, it is a commitment to telling the truth.

    While laws and regulations with more teeth are needed to fight greenwashing, we celebrate the passage of Bill C-59 and applaud all the Members of Parliament who worked to amend and strengthen this bill.

    Background Information:

    • Bill C-59 is now being studied by the Senate. Before it passed the House of Commons, important amendments were introduced. One change was to extend the obligation on companies to provide evidence for their environmental claims to include general claims about a company and their activities. Previously it had been limited to specific product claims. This is critical as more companies rely on broad sustainability values-based branding and vague climate-supporting statements, rather than the product they’re marketing or the merits of their environmental or climate record. For example, the Competition Bureau is currently investigating an advertising campaign by the Pathways Alliance that follows this approach. In fact, the Pathways Alliance sent a letter to the members of the Senate voicing their concerns over the greenwashing requirements in Bill C-59, with many of the same talking points as used by Minister Schulz.
    • Greenwashing is a type of false advertising. It’s when a company makes misleading or unsupported claims to seem more environmentally friendly than they are. The goal is to deceive consumers and the public. One example is when oil and gas companies try to market themselves or their products as environmentally friendly, despite fossil fuels being the main cause of the climate crisis.

    ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.

    – 30 –

    For more information or to request an interview, please contact:

    Midhat Moini, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca

    The post Statement in response to the Government of Alberta’s attack on greenwashing amendments in Bill C-59  appeared first on Environmental Defence.

    This post was originally published on Environmental Defence.

  • Federal Environment and Health Ministers Agree to Assess Toxicity of Naphthenic Acids

    Ottawa | Traditional, unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg People –This week, the federal ministers of environment and health agreed to assess whether naphthenic acids (NAs), a dangerous component in oilsands tailings ponds, are toxic under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA). The decision comes in response to a formal request submitted earlier this year by environmental groups and a First Nation to assess the harms caused by oilsands NAs, given their known environmental and health impacts.

    The request was submitted in March by Ecojustice, on behalf of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Environmental Defence and Keepers of the Water. Mikisew Cree First Nation also submitted a similar request. Earlier this week, a group of nearly 40 leading toxicologists, scientists and health experts submitted a letter supporting the need to prioritize NAs for risk assessment.

    Naphthenic acids accumulate in tar sands tailings ponds at dangerous levels. The toxic wastewater that contains NAs is known to kill birds, impair reproduction of wood frogs, pollute water sources, and kill aquatic organisms (including fish) when tailings ponds leak into the surrounding environment and waterways. While there are gaps in human health studies, naphthenic acids are a potential endocrine disruptor. Despite these known risks, Canada has never assessed the NAs present in oil sands tailings ponds.

    In 2023, CEPA was amended to better protect people in Canada and the environment from toxic chemicals. One change was a provision to allow any individual or organization to ask the federal government to prioritize specific hazardous substances for assessment. This is the second time this amendment to CEPA has been used to successfully request prioritization, following the recent decision to prioritize the tire chemical 6PPD for assessment.

    Bronwyn Roe, lawyer Ecojustice said:

    “Naphthenic acids from tailings ponds have been found in surface water and groundwater in the Athabasca oil sands region. The harms that these chemicals cause to people and the environment need to be better understood, and NAs need to be regulated to prevent harmful exposure. The first step to making that happen is to have the toxicity of naphthenic acids from the oil sands assessed under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. This assessment needs to proceed without delay.

    “For years, Indigenous Peoples in the oil sands region have called on the government to assess NAs. The government accepting this request is an important step in advancing reconciliation and upholding its commitments to environmental justice and to implementing UNDRIP, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.”

    Aliénor Rougeot, Climate and Energy Program Manager at Environmental Defence said:

    “We applaud the federal ministers’ commitment to assessing the toxicity of naphthenic acids in tar sands tailings ponds. For decades, oil companies have operated without proper regulation, contaminating the environment and endangering lives. Each day without action risks another catastrophic leak of toxic tailings, such as the major incident that happened at Imperial Oil’s Kearl mine last year.

    “The government’s use of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act to investigate these risks is necessary and urgent. It’s irresponsible to have allowed trillions of liters of toxic waste to accumulate without knowing its impact. This assessment should start immediately, confirming the toxicity of naphthenic acids and enabling more federal measures to protect local communities and ecosystems.”

    Chief Allan Adam, Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation said: 

    “The cancerous effects of Naphthenic Acids have long been known to scientists, industry, governments and sadly to our community of Fort Chipewyan. Fort Chipewyan is the closest downstream community from Alberta’s Tar Sands and it is no surprise that we live with the highest cancer rates in the Province, over twice that of the rest of Alberta. Today is a great step forward and we are grateful that Minister Guilbeault and Holland have answered our call to regulate these cancerous compounds.”

    Jesse Cardinal, Executive Director for Keepers of the Water, said:

    “We’re the first scientists of this land, and we understand how everything is connected. For several generations, we have been the first witnesses and the first affected by the devastating impacts of these intensely toxic so-called development projects on a once richly diverse wildlife, landscape and waterway system. We are grateful for the support our collective has that led us to this vital step towards regulating harmful chemicals that our family and friends downstream from tar sands are exposed to daily.”

    ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.

    – 30 –

    For more information or to request an interview, please contact:

    Allen Braude, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca

    The post Federal Environment and Health Ministers Agree to Assess Toxicity of Naphthenic Acids appeared first on Environmental Defence.

    This post was originally published on Environmental Defence.

  • Statement from Ashley Wallis, Associate Director at Environmental Defence: Ontario’s Decision to Expand Where Empties Can Be Returned Will Improve Recycling and Refill Rates

    Province’s next step should be to expand deposit return to include non-alcoholic drink containers.

    Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – We applaud Ontario’s announcement that all grocery and big box retailers selling beer, cider, wine and other ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages will have to accept empties and refund customers’ deposits by 2026. The Beer Store’s long standing deposit-return system already keeps billions of alcoholic beverage containers out of landfills, incinerators and the environment every year. Expanding where Ontarians can return their empties will improve already high recycling and refill rates. If you sell it, you should take it back—this will better serve customers and the planet.

    But Ontario can’t stop here. Now is the time to build on this critical development and expand deposit return to include non-alcoholic drink containers. Not only is deposit return the best way to achieve consistently high collection, recycling and refill rates, it is something a vast majority of Ontarians want. Polling commissioned from Abacus Data found that 81 per cent of Ontarians support an expanded deposit return program for non-alcoholic beverages, and more than half want to be able to return their empties to grocery and other retail stores.

    We urge Ontario to move quickly and use this momentum to implement an expanded deposit return program to keep billions of non-alcoholic drink containers out of our parks, rivers and overflowing landfills.

    Background:

    • Ontario and Manitoba are the only two provinces in Canada without deposit return for non-alcoholic beverage containers.

    • Ontario has the lowest recycling rate for non-alcoholic drink containers nationwide. Less than 50 per cent of these containers sold in Ontario are recycled. Meanwhile, provinces with comprehensive deposit systems recycle upwards of 75 per cent of their containers.

    • Environmental Defence has estimated that 1.7 billion plastic beverage containers are landfilled, incinerated or littered in Ontario every year.

    • Last summer, Ontario established a stakeholder working group to explore implementing a deposit return system for non-alcoholic drink containers.

    • The provincial government has set targets for beverage producers to collect and recycle or refill containers: 75 per cent by 2026 and 80 per cent by 2030. The only effective way to achieve these targets is an expanded deposit-return program with accessible return points for empties.

    ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.

    – 30 –

    For more information or to request an interview, please contact:

    Lauren Thomas, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca

    The post Statement from Ashley Wallis, Associate Director at Environmental Defence: Ontario’s Decision to Expand Where Empties Can Be Returned Will Improve Recycling and Refill Rates appeared first on Environmental Defence.

    This post was originally published on Environmental Defence.

  • Response to Disinformation From the Oil and Gas Industry on the Impacts of the Oil and Gas Emissions Cap

    <Statement by Aly Hyder Ali, Oil and Gas Program Manager 

    Ottawa | Traditional, unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg People – It is disappointing to see that the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) has once again resorted to using disinformation and stoking fear to avoid taking any responsibility for its climate pollution. In an analysis released today, CAPP claims that the oil and gas emissions cap will result in economic losses. Yet CAPP continues to ignore the overwhelming economic impacts of the oil and gas industry’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that are driving climate change. Furthermore, the proposed emissions cap enshrines into regulation what oil and gas companies have already promised they will do, nothing more. 

    CAPP assumes ongoing demand for Canadian oil and gas. Yet energy experts, including the International Energy Agency and the Canada Energy Regulator, paint a very different picture. Additionally, CAPP’s analysis omits the inclusion of any plans for significant reductions of methane emissions, which is one of the cheapest methods of reducing oil and gas emissions from conventional oil and gas production.

    This is not the first time that CAPP has attempted to dissuade the federal government from holding the oil and gas industry accountable for its pollution. While making public claims about reducing its pollution, CAPP has lobbied extensively behind closed doors against emissions reduction policies. This, of course, goes against warnings from global experts that have repeatedly shown that we need drastic reductions in pollution to fight climate change.

    The oil and gas industry is the largest source of GHG emissions in Canada – accounting for 31 per cent of Canada’s domestic pollution. Conventional oil accounts for less than half of total oil and gas production. The reality is that oil sands – which is a very polluting source of oil – is the largest source of existing and planned production. The emissions from Canada’s oil and gas industry have also been linked to the increase in extreme wildfires that Canada has experienced in recent decades. Canada’s oil and gas pollution continues to increase, which proves the need for an enforceable cap on emissions from the industry.

    The oil and gas industry has made hundreds of billions of dollars in recent years, while Canadians across the country are struggling to pay for their day-to-day needs. The cost of climate change continues to increase and it is everyday people that are feeling the brunt of it.

    It is the role of the federal government to act in the best interests of the people in this country, not the industry. Canada needs an oil and gas emissions cap to safeguard the future of Canadians. It is disappointing, but not surprising, that the oil and gas industry is only looking out for itself. 

    For more information about why Canada needs an oil and gas emissions cap, please see this media backgrounder. 

    ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.

    – 30 –

    For more information or to request an interview, please contact:

    Allen Braude, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca, 416-356-3587

    The post Response to Disinformation From the Oil and Gas Industry on the Impacts of the Oil and Gas Emissions Cap appeared first on Environmental Defence.

    This post was originally published on Environmental Defence.

  • Toronto’s Legalization of Six-Storey Apartment Buildings in Residential Neighbourhoods is the Model for Fixing Ontario’s Housing Shortage

    three-storey apartment building on a residential street

    Statement from Phil Pothen, Land Use and Land Development program manager

    Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – Yesterday, Mayor Olivia Chow and Toronto City Council approved a large-scale Official Plan amendment and rezoning of major streets within the city’s residential neighborhoods that will permit apartment buildings of up to six storeys and sixty units on more than 30,000 lots that have –until now– been restricted to low-rise housing. This decision is an important victory both in the fight to save forests, farms and wetlands, and in the fight to end Ontario’s housing shortage. 

    Every day of labour and every bit of construction capacity that gets directed to compact family homes in Toronto neighbourhoods as a result of these reforms will house far more people than they would if wasted on farmland sprawl in the 905. Every young family that is able to live on one of Toronto’s residential streets, rather than a new subdivision, will mean a swathe of habitat or farmland saved and tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions avoided.

    Through these reforms, Toronto City Council is beginning to embrace the specific building types and some of the infill development sites where all governments in the Golden Horseshoe and Ottawa will need to direct housing construction in order to build more homes faster. By making this change all at once, through “as-of-right” zoning, devised through a unified, city-wide process, Mayor Chow and Planning and Housing Chair Gord Parks are also setting the standard for the scale and speed with which all of the region’s governments should be approving the densification of low-density residential neighbourhoods.

    Toronto’s policy should still be improved upon. Six-storey, wood-frame apartment buildings should be legalized in other parts of neighbourhoods, like around public parks, and there will need to be some adjustment of built form restrictions if Toronto’s major neigbourhood streets are to deliver the proportion of family-sized homes the city needs from them.

    However, the real obstacle to Toronto and other cities, suburbs and towns delivering the vast number of new homes needed is the provincial government. At the very moment when Mayor Chow and Toronto City Council are showing leadership by legalizing the most efficient and low-cost kinds of housing, Premier Ford and Minister Paul Calandra are trying their best to deprive Toronto builders of precisely the kinds of construction capacity they need to actually build it. Bill 185, the planned Highway 413 and the repeal of the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe would divert scarce wood-frame construction labour, equipment and materials into wasteful McMansion sprawl schemes by eliminating anti-sprawl controls and pouring tens of billions of dollars into subsidies for inefficient sprawl. 

    ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry, and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate, and healthy communities.

    – 30 –

    For more information or to request an interview, please contact:
    Carolyn Townend, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca

    The post Toronto’s Legalization of Six-Storey Apartment Buildings in Residential Neighbourhoods is the Model for Fixing Ontario’s Housing Shortage appeared first on Environmental Defence.

    This post was originally published on Environmental Defence.

  • The Ontario Government’s Anti-Density Bill 185 is so Extreme and Corrupt that even Density Opponents are Concerned

    Statement from Phil Pothen, Land Use and Land Development program manager

    Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – The Ontario government’s latest attempt to kneecap efforts to build more homes in neighbourhoods  –and supercharge suburban sprawl– is so extreme that even some long-time opponents of density are joining the opposition.

    It should be no surprise to anyone that environmental NGOs, farming organizations and housing supply advocates are united in opposition to Bill 185 and the new Provincial Planning Statement. These new laws are intended to kill Ontario’s “smart growth” city planning system, abandoning efforts to make towns and cities build housing within existing built up areas and protect non-Greenbelt farmland and wildlife habitat from suburban sprawl.  They would see the province scrap regional efforts to promote more efficient use of construction capacity and infrastructure investment at a time when those efforts are vital to ending the housing shortage. They would also create a serious risk of corruption, by removing Ontario Land Tribunal oversight of decisions to approve sprawl.

    However, these laws were designed to win support for sprawl from traditional ratepayers associations. Premier Ford even went so far as to block provincial legalization of fourplexes, echoing NIMBY rhetoric about letting “municipalities determine what is good for their communities”. That is why it is encouraging that today’s open letter, which opposes Bill 185 and the repeal of mandatory densification, criticizes the government for refusing to legalize fourplexes and has sign-on even from some individuals and groups that continued to express fears about denser housing in neighbourhoods. 

    The Ontario government was forced to reverse its Greenbelt land removals after Ontarians from unexpected parts of the political spectrum erupted in anger about the corruption. Now the same thing is happening with Bill 185 and the Provincial Planning Statement. If Premier Ford and Minister Calandra pay attention to past patterns, they will stop this scandal before it happens, by abandoning these misguided plans now.

    ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry, and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate, and healthy communities.

    – 30 –

    For more information or to request an interview, please contact:
    Carolyn Townend, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca

    The post The Ontario Government’s Anti-Density Bill 185 is so Extreme and Corrupt that even Density Opponents are Concerned appeared first on Environmental Defence.

    This post was originally published on Environmental Defence.