The Environment in Canada Podcast

We talk with Jean-Frédéric Caron, the Executive Director of Orchestre de l’Agora, an ensemble that uses music as a tool for sustainable social change. We discuss how musicians work to promote environmental awareness and to make music more accessible to the public, the way we perceive our environment through sound, and why it’s so important we make sure younger musicians have the ability to continue their work.

The Orchestr...

Jessica Murray talks with Aric McBay about why we need to explore multiple avenues to winning in the environmental movement and use different tactics in concert with each other. They also discuss how to be more inclusive in our actions and an upcoming two day in person event in June where you can learn more on these topics and on radical imagination.

For more information on the event contact ontario@sierraclub.ca 

For the Q&...

The best way to fight climate misinformation is to have conversations with those we know, and we know many of you are having those chats. Sierra Club Canada is here to help with a new special series of All Hands on Deck webinars specifically on how to win hearts and minds on the toughest climate issues through conversations. We interrupt our normally scheduled programming to bring you the first of these by podcast.

In this...

We learn to value nature through our repeated exposure to it, so how can we help future generations if they don't get to experience the natural world? Sierra Club Canada's Wild Child programs get children outside for tens of thousands of hours every year, but what does that really mean? For answers Conor talks with Tamsyn Neale of our Wild Child PEI program about outdoor education, how we learn to care for the planet, and...

Ever wonder what goes into an effective climate communications plan? This week’s conversation with Jessica Murray and Anat Shenker-Osorio delves into that subject and the lessons in the episode are useful whether you're a full time climate communicator or just looking to speak to others in your life.

Also in this podcast is the story of Indigenous communities in Ecuador who won against the oil and gas industry, despite the indu...

Haley Davis talks with Charlotte Craig about urban ecology and how climate change will impact urban bee populations. As part of our work to highlight the Rights of Nature, Sierra Club Canada is actively promoting awareness of the impacts climate change and biodiversity loss are having on our world.

You can take action for the Rights of Nature yourself here: https://www.sierraclub.ca/action-item/new-biodiversity-strategy-fo...

Conor talks with Talia about collective gardens and urban agriculture; all the benefits they bring and the challenges they face in feeding communities. They discuss the impact climate change is having on urban agriculture and particularly the impact of wildfire smoke on peoples' ability to get outside. There's also information on how you can get involved, whether you live in Montréal where this garden is located, or want ...

Jessica Murray talks with lawyer Leslie Anne St. Amour of the RAVEN trust about the Wet’suwet’en challenge to Canada’s climate inaction, the usefulness of UNDRIP, why we urgently need to change Canadian environmental law for the better, and our right to life, liberty, and security of the person.

Given Sierra Club Canada's ongoing work on the Rights of Nature, as part of our podcast we're doing a miniseries on Ind...

Whatever your take on carbon pricing happens to be (for or against) there's one thing that's for certain: Climate change costs us more. Climate change costs us the health of those we love as they breath in wildfire smoke and it costs Canadians their homes by flooding and fires.

The carbon tax debate also completely leaves out the carbon price's impact on immediate fossil fuel-produced air pollution which cla...

Conor talks with Professor T. Brettel Dawson about the Rights of Nature, how rights for nature is an increasingly implemented legal system in many places from New Zealand, to Bangladesh, to Québec, and why it’s strange we would assume nature doesn’t have rights. This is the first part of a mini-series within the podcast we will be doing on The Rights of Nature.

In the Q&A this week we also answer your question about the impacts ...

Jessica Murray talks with lawyer Owen Stewart about Indigenous Rights, Reconciliation, and how Indigenous nations and groups are protecting our environment through legal action from Wet’suwet’en land defenders to the Nuchatlaht First Nation.

Plus we address your question about the draining of raw sewage into lakes in Alberta.

The end of each episode of our podcast is dedicated to answering your questions. Write us an email ...

Ironically we launched this episode the same day the Facebook and Insta are down in an outage (March 5): The Facebook and Instagram bans on Canadian journalism have already had a big impact on the Canadian media landscape, and especially for independent journalism, but they also have ramifications for the environmental movement. That's especially true as misinformation, increasingly fueled by artificial intelligence (AI) and o...

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.

Plus we answer your Q&A que...

Roberto Dobles was former Minister of Environment and Energy between 2006 and 2009 in Costa Rica. Following his time as minister he cut a deal with an American company, Black Hills Energy, for a huge share of oil and gas profits from the company’s proposed oil and gas plans in Costa Rica. After those plans fell through he sued Black Hills for the compensation he said he is owed (more money than Costa Rica itself would have made in ...

Jessica Murray talks with Ole Hendrickson about Government of Canada's decision to allow 80 years’ worth of its accumulated radioactive waste to be put in a gigantic landfill surrounded by wetlands that drain into the Ottawa River, 1 kilometer away. They discuss the history of Canada's nuclear industry and what to do about our nuclear waste.

Ten Algonquin First Nations, on whose unceded land this Near Surface Dis...

Conor talks with Jason Ruochen Wang, a senior analyst working on the Pembina Institute's electricity program in Alberta and Mitchell Beer, founding publisher and managing editor of The Energy Mix, about whether renewables really harmed Alberta during recent energy grid issues.

We discuss whether clean energy regulations would harm the electricity grid, the role renewable energy and energy efficiency can play in giving...

For those who see oil and gas as the future for Newfoundland and Labrador Norway is often held up as an example: a place where oil and gas has brought prosperity and economic stability.

But in Norway questions are being raised about that stability, the future of the oil and gas industry, and the direction of Equinor as the world transitions more and more rapidly to renewable energy.

We’re also seeing the increasing impacts of climate...

From December 2023: We’re happy to announce in time for COP28 that we have launched a new podcast: The Environment in Canada Podcast is a podcast about the environment in Canada. Pretty self-explanatory. Our first episode is all about an oil and gas project in… the United Kingdom. Confused? Understandable.

Episode one, Equinor’s Rosebank, Divestment, Energy Bills, and COP28 is about our friends at the StopRosebank campaign...