Category: Environment and Climate Change Canada

Rising Polar Bear Numbers in Canadian North Prompting Management Measures, Says Federal Department

Rising numbers of polar bears in the Canadian north require certain management measures to be taken, according to a federal department, despite past reports that the animal’s extinction is drawing near. “However, science and Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) are now observing higher numbers of Polar Bears, and the management goals are more focused on maintaining or…


Storms Leave Thousands Without Power, Flights Cancelled in Several Provinces

Winter storms are causing heavy snow, freezing rain, flight cancellations, and power outages in several provinces. Roughly 300,000 customers are without power in Ontario and Quebec. Hydro One said more than 50,000 customers are without power across most of southern Ontario, while Hydro Ottawa said at around 2:15 p.m. ET that roughly 8,600 of its…


Millions of Dollars in Federal Pollution Fines Sit Unused in Conservation Fund: Audit

Millions of dollars collected by the federal government through fines levied on big polluters have sat unused in a conservation fund intended to be used for environmental initiatives, a recent audit found. The Environmental Damages Fund (EDF), managed by Environment and Climate Change (ECCC) Minister Steven Guilbeault’s department, was established in 1995 to use funds from environmental fines for…


Environment Canada Suspended 1 Percent of Unvaccinated Federal Workers: Internal Audit

Canada’s Department of Environment placed the 1 percent of its employees who were unvaccinated on leave, an internal audit shows. Meanwhile, “the vast majority, 99 percent, attested as being fully vaccinated,” said the audit, obtained by Blacklock’s Reporter. Of the 8,530 employees at Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), a total of 89, or 1…


Montreal-Area Company Fined $40,000 After Blowing Snow Into Protected Frog Habitat

Environment and Climate Change Canada says a Montreal–area company has been fined $40,000 for violating a federal law aimed at protecting an endangered frog. The federal environment agency says building material retailer Canac-Marquis Grenier Ltée pleaded guilty Thursday at the Longueuil, Que., courthouse to one count of violating the prohibitions under the Emergency Order for the…


Conservative Ag Critic Says Allegations of Federal Agents Trespassing on Sask Farmland ‘Disgusting’

Federal Conservative agriculture critic John Barlow says it’s “disgusting” that federal agents allegedly trespassed on Saskatchewan farmland. In a letter to federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault on Aug. 22, the Saskatchewan government said it wants an explanation from Ottawa after federal employees allegedly took water samples from farmers’ lands without permission. Barlow said farmers are…


Blizzard Blasts Nunavut, 135 km/h Winds Rip Off Stairs and Crush Cabins

IQALUIT—Pangnirtung mayor Eric Lawlor couldn’t see out his windows on Sunday. That’s when a day-long blizzard hit the Baffin Island community of about 1,500, shaking houses and crushing cabins. According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, winds reached 135 km/h that day. “It was like an all day thing. The wind was so strong,” Lawlor…