National Newswatch

Why China isn’t an excuse for climate inaction

Jun 6 2023 — Max Fawcett — Canada’s conservatives have spent decades denying the fundamental scientific reality of climate change and disputing the central role human activity plays in creating and exacerbating it. But as those arguments became increasingly untenable with the public, they’ve had to retreat to attacking the proposed solutions for it, most notably carbon pricing. Now, it seems, they’ve […]

David Johnston is the right man for the wrong time

May 29 2023 — Max Fawcett — You almost have to feel sorry for David Johnston. After a lifetime of esteemed public service and achievement, which includes long stints at the head of key post-secondary institutions and a term as governor general, he’s now being dragged through the filthiest partisan mud for his role as Canada’s “special rapporteur” on foreign interference in […]

Just how much crazy can Alberta take? We’re about to find out

May 25 2023 — — After four weeks of relentless campaigning, an endless barrage of partisan advertisements and arguments, and one damning ethics commissioner report, Monday’s provincial election in Alberta will come down to one question: How much anti-LGBTQ bigotry, conspiracy theorizing and American culture war nonsense will voters put up with in the name of keeping corporate taxes low? […]

How the PBO is fuelling opposition to Canada’s climate policies

May 24 2023 — Max Fawcett — Stephen Harper is, without question, one of his generation’s sharpest political minds. But even he couldn’t have foreseen the Parliamentary Budget Officer role he created as part of his 2006 Federal Accountability Act would play a leading role in undermining support for climate policy in Canada in 2023. After all, its stated mission revolved around […]

Wildfire conspiracy theories spread faster than flames

May 23 2023 — — For the past three weeks, thousands of Albertans have been forced to evacuate their homes while firefighters and even Canadian troops battle massive wildfires. But in some corners of the province, there are whispers that the soldiers’ presence has nothing to do with the fires. In a video posted to Twitter on Tuesday and viewed […]

Conservative outrage over Canada’s modernized passports is just more culture war chaos

May 15 2023 — Max Fawcett — Remember when the Canadian passport was just a boring government document? Yeah, me neither. Barely a year after processing backlogs and lineups at government offices turned them into a political hot potato, passports are back in the headlines thanks to a long-running redesign process that has culture war conservatives outraged over the changes. In other […]

The cost of turning older buildings into climate-fighting machines

May 11 2023 — — While Canada has set a deadline to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, several provinces and cities, including Toronto and Prince Edward Island, have made commitments to reach that goal a decade earlier. To do so, all of their existing buildings and houses will need to be retrofitted so they no longer use fossil […]

Rachel Notley is Alberta’s real progressive conservative

May 4 2023 — Max Fawcett — Peter Lougheed was Alberta’s 10th premier, the creator of its Heritage Savings Trust Fund, and the architect of a four-decade political dynasty that would see his Alberta Progressive Conservatives win 12 consecutive elections, most of them in a walk. He went to war with Pierre Trudeau, helped defeat the National Energy Program, and fought effectively […]

The uncomfortable truth about Alberta’s emissions cap

May 2 2023 — Max Fawcett — Truth and honesty are rare commodities in politics, and even more so when an election is in the offing. But when it comes to the pledges from the oil and gas industry to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, senior members of Alberta’s United Conservative Party government are in the process of offering up a long-overdue confession: […]

Pierre Poilievre wins a battle in his war against the truth

Apr 18 2023 — Max Fawcett — Score one for Pierre Poilievre. After tattling on the CBC to Elon Musk, who apparently spent $44 billion to become the world’s most powerful digital hall monitor, he notched a victory when the public broadcaster’s main Twitter account was tagged with the same label Twitter has recently stuck on the BBC, PBS and other public […]

The path to clean electricity must include energy efficiency

Apr 13 2023 — — The latest federal budget focused on promoting clean electricity to catch up to American climate policies. The more electricity we save, the easier it will be to achieve zero-carbon grids and electrification of heating, transportation and industry. However, the budget had little emphasis on saving electricity, an area where Canada significantly lags behind the United […]

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