The Environment in Canada Podcast

In our last podcast episode we covered how the PM wants to sell off public assets to the 1% (including the U.S, 1%) at his Canada Investment Summit and how you can take action: https://www.sierraclub.ca/canada-investment-summit-assets/

We’re starting this week’s podcast with a read of our recent newsletter on how the only coherent plan the Federal Government has presented so far is one to de-regulate and privatize. There...

After an update on the Canada-U.S. trade war and the Venezuela oil deal (and how our Federal Government would likely have signed a very bad deal if it weren't for public pressure) Eve Saint and Rachel Small discuss a counter-summit taking place in Toronto this September 12th-14th to protest the selling of public assets to the wealthiest 1%.

Find out more about the event here: https://www.manyvsmoneysummit.ca/

Read our full newsletter...

A discussion on why there's a lot more to the polar bear than just a symbol when it comes to climate change, arctic species, ecosystems and government decisions, and species at risk. Andrea Miller (Board Member at Sierra Club Canada) interviews Dr. Stephen Petersen, the Director of Conservation and Research for Assiniboine Park Zoo. 

Take action for nature yourself:

• Call Your MP: Canada is Alive and Kicking – in Spight...

Interview with Pauline Thornham, a long time volunteer with Sierra Club Canada and environmental advocate in Brampton, Ontario. It covers everything from electric buses, to bike lanes, to waste as well as the work - and patience - that goes into making change. The interview is hosted by Sierra Club Canada Board Member Andrea Miller.

Also a few updates...

Take Action by Sending Messages:

• The U.S. wants to force oil drilling onto Gr...

Rachel Gilmore and Ole Hendrickson join us for a special episode of The Environment In Canada Podcast on de-regulation, nuclear energy, gas, data centres, and other threats to water as well as the growing oligarchical influence of the billionaire group 'Build Canada' (one of it’s founders doesn’t even believe poor people should have the right to vote). 

Our government's focus on nuclear - for example - is also a gre...

The recent electric announcements - with NO new dollar figures attached - are a trick meant to keep you complacent about a pipeline you will pay for. The pipeline plan no longer appears tied to the Pathways Project. The Federal Government is going to waste tens of billions of dollars in taxpayer dollars on a new oil pipeline that will be almost entirely billed to the public, instead of it being private as was promised. Albertans di...

The Federal Government just gutted climate policy cancelling vital green jobs in Canada and it was NOT 4D 'chess' and there is NO excuse. Also what does pesticide deregulation, so extreme even industry didn't want it, have to do with national unity? Nothing.

We discuss this gutting of the Industrial Carbon Price and Clean Electricity Regulations - what it means about the 'de-regulation / pro-corporate-profit-at-your-expense-agenda' ...

A U.S. company's proposed Tantramar diesel / gas plant could increase energy bills, lock communities into fossil fuels for decades, and put important ecosystems in New Brunswick at risk - when cheaper renewable and battery solutions exist: https://www.sierraclub.ca/renewable-energy-does-not-need-baseload-power-more-facts-on-wind-solar-batteries-grids/

We also hear about the EcoFactors podcast which you can listen to here: https://ww...

The Canada Strong "Sovereign Wealth Fund" is NOT a Norwegian-style wealth fund - and it might be a taxpayer money-funnel to risky oil and gas projects that puts public assets at risk. Climate action is the canary in the coal mine - not a secondary issue: if governments can't commit to climate action and take affordability measures that confront oil and gas corporate profits, we can't rely on them to do a lot of other things either.

Earth Day special episode with links to resources on biodiversity and nature, information on the cost of living and price caps on gas, and an update on a recent demonstration (pictured) that saw hundreds of people in Montreal protest against Federal cuts to climate action and services. Find out more:

• Our special Earth Day newsletter edition with Ole and Lynn's message, resources for Earth Day and more about our team: https://sec...

Emergence: Women in the Storm "goes beyond the headlines to explore how women are navigating climate-based emergencies." Nova Ami, Velcrow Ripper, and Meghan Fandrich join the podcast to talk about the new film, communicating on climate change with others, poetry, and how women are taking action.

• Find out more about the film, streaming, and screenings at: https://www.emergence.film/
• Find our more about Meghan's book, Burning Sage...

You can't win against U.S. oligarchy by letting oligarchy in through the back door. All the defence spending in the world doesn't matter in that case because you have misjudged how the U.S. influence strategy works.

“The U.S. wants to achieve energy dominance. We support you in that view… [as] Fortress North America” Tim Hodgson, the Canadian Energy Minister recently told the U.S. Regarding Trump's U.S. tech billi...

Quel rôle est-ce que les professionnel.le.s de la santé ont dans le mouvement écologiste? Diamond Yao s'entretient avec Dre Claudel Pétrin-Desrosiers, médecin de famille à Montréal et présidente de l'Association québécoise des médecins pour l'environnement (AQME).

Envoyez-nous vos questions pour le podcast à communications@sierraclub.ca

Et n'oubliez pas de passer à l'action !

Veuillez noter : Les opinions exprimées dans ce pod...

Taylor talks with students (Haley & Shirley) from Bur Oak Secondary School about a thrift shop fundraiser they ran at their school to raise awareness of the environmental impacts of overconsumption and the importance of thrift shopping - and to raise funds for Sierra Club Canada. They also discuss the impact of social media advertising on youth and the need for people to reconnect with the natural world and each other offline.

I...

Oil & gas interests are already lying about the future of their Canadian projects and profiting as a result of the Iran war. In reality price shocks due to the U.S. war on Iran - along with the U.S. attempt to cut Cuba off from oil - will convince countries to move to renewables faster. That in turn makes new Canadian oil, gas and LNG projects LESS viable as they rely on long term demand for their products.

Even before the Iran ...

Gretchen Fitzgerald (Our Executive Director) and Shauna Kelly (our Offshore Wind Coordinator for Newfoundland and Labrador) present to the Canadian Senate on offshore wind and the economic infeasibility of offshore oil development in Newfoundland and Labrador. At the end there’s also a recording of Mi’gmawe’l Tplu’taqnn (MTI) presenting to the same senate committee about the lack of Indigenous consultation a...

Jessica Murray talks with Juliet Rennick about Black History Month and its multiple meanings. They also discuss environmental racism and the story of Africville in Nova Scotia, how cities consult on environmental matters, the work of environment and social activist Wangari Maathai, how to be a better ally, and what it means for environmental organizations to truly engage in a dialogue on these issues.

(Originally published in Februa...

Could a power cable from Newfoundland and Labrador to the United Kingdom and EU connect the grids of North American and Europe?There's already a concept proposal for one: https://nato-l.com/  The idea might not be as outlandish as it sounds, and it would bring significant benefits in terms of wind and solar energy and associated jobs and revenue locally in NL and across Canada. Similar projects have also been proposed elsewher...

Journalist James Stout joins us to discuss Rojava, the ecological aspects of their revolution in Northeast Syria, and the history of conflict there. Kurds and other cultural minorities in Rojava are also being threatened with the prospect of ethnic cleansing by the new Syrian Transitional Government of Damascus that has attacked on Rojava. 

The Canadian Government could apply pressure to the Syrian Government to help facilitate...