May 18 2023 — Bruce Campbell — The Conversation — Once again, Canada will almost certainly fail to meet its target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 to 45 per cent by 2030 in accordance with the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recommendations. This is despite the government’s optimistic spin on the release of its latest emissions inventory report. Jerry DeMarco, […]
Feb 26 2023 — Bruce Campbell — The Conversation — The ongoing environmental tragedy in Ohio caused by the derailment of a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials — which sent toxic chemicals into the air and local waterways — will take a long time to clean up. And if a similar rail tragedy in Canada is an example, it could take even longer for […]
Nov 6 2022 — Bruce Campbell — The Conversation — The United Nations climate change conference, COP27, has begun in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. In the lead-up to the conference, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report revealed “a litany of broken climate promises” by governments and corporations. “It is a file of shame, cataloguing the empty pledges that […]
Sep 21 2022 — Bruce Campbell — The Conversation — Major railways in Canada, alone among private sector corporations, have their own police forces with full investigative and jurisdictional powers over accidents on, or near, their property. These unique powers — a historic anomaly dating back to the 19th century when railways were being built across North America — have, until recently, escaped public scrutiny. […]
Jul 2 2022 — Bruce Campbell — Toronto Star — On July 6, 2013, a runaway train carrying 72 tank cars laden with Bakken shale oil destined for the Irving Oil refinery in Saint John, N.B., derailed and exploded in Lac-Mégantic, a small town in Quebec near the Maine border. The disaster killed 47 people, orphaned 26 children, spilled a record six million litres of […]
Jun 1 2022 — Bruce Campbell — The Conversation — On July 6, 2013, the fourth deadliest railway disaster in Canadian history took place. A train hauling 72 tankers filled with crude oil derailed in Lac-Mégantic, Que., killing 47 people. The roots of the Lac-Mégantic rail disaster can be traced to a combination of corporate negligence and regulatory failure. It is what spurred the publication […]
Apr 19 2022 — Bruce Campbell — Monitor Mag — In response to the brutal inequality of the 1920s and the Great Depression, and under widespread political pressure after World War II, Canadian and other western governments brought in major reductions in income and wealth inequality through tax and transfer policies. It was an era of full employment, high taxes on the wealthy, universal Medicare, […]
Mar 7 2022 — Bruce Campbell — Monitor Mag — In remission for now, the “Freedom Convoy,” led by a small group of well-funded, seditionist and far-right activists, tapped into the grievances of a much larger segment of the population that is resentful of government policies—measures which have triggered anxiety about their ability to earn a living and their future. EKOS pollster Frank Graves and […]
Jan 20 2022 — Bruce Campbell — The Conversation — When the International Energy Agency (IAE) released its update report on Canada in mid-January, it was largely a summary of the Canadian fossil fuels landscape coupled with praise for the federal government’s climate policy commitments and Canada’s climate leadership.
Oct 24 2021 — Bruce Campbell — The Conversation — The time has come for Canada and other rich nations to pony-up and pay for the devastation they have caused countries in the Global South. That means, for a start, providing far greater climate adaptation financing to low-income countries and plugging the holes that siphon their limited fiscal resources to tax havens.
Aug 31 2021 — Bruce Campbell — Monitor Mag — In an August 2021 report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded the Paris Agreement climate targets could soon be out of reach without immediate and massive greenhouse gas emission reductions this decade. António Guterres, the UN Secretary General, warned the report “is a code red for humanity.” The climate crisis and unprecedented wealth inequality […]
Jul 6 2021 — Bruce Campbell — Toronto Star — The Lac-Mégantic oil train derailment on July 6, 2013 was the worst industrial disaster on Canadian soil in over a century: 47 people killed; 26 children orphaned; the town centre incinerated; an unprecedented six million litre spill of toxic shale oil; ongoing environmental, physical and post-traumatic health issues affecting community members.
May 18 2021 — Bruce Campbell — Monitor Mag — For more than four decades the economic paradigm that prioritized private market-led policy has been embraced by corporate, academic, bureaucratic and political elites. The paradigm enlisted a variety of well-known policy tools, including inflation control, deregulation, privatization, austerity, balanced budgets and globalization. The corporate-government power relationship that underlies this paradigm is one of capture and […]
Apr 22 2021 — Bruce Campbell — The Conversation — The 724-page federal budget made vital spending commitments to extend supports to Canadians as the pandemic shock waves continue. It also made critical social safety net improvements, most notably universal child care and increases in old age security and supports for eldercare. But where is the road map to reduce Canada’s carbon emissions? If we […]
Apr 22 2021 — Bruce Campbell — The Conversation — Canada’s latest federal budget did little to tackle climate action or income inequality, two problems with strong ties. Alberta’s Bow Lake is seen in this photo. Josh Woroniecki/Unsplash Bruce Campbell, York University, Canada The 724-page federal budget made vital spending commitments to extend supports to Canadians as the pandemic shock waves continue. It also made […]