Current Problems: Environment
Exploring Theme: "Climate Change"
Updates on this page: 29
(Filtered by Stakeholder "Canada")
April 18, 2024
Carbon price grievances end in doubled returns to Indigenous governments — not exemptions
Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault in Canada’s delegation office at the Palais des Congrès in Montreal during COP15. Photo by Natasha Bulowski/Canada’s National Observer Listen to article Canada’s National Observer – After facing severe political blowback for its carbon tax exemption on oil last fall, Ottawa is caving to complaints for a second time...
April 10, 2024
Pay now or pay more later to prepare First Nations for climate emergencies
Cindy Woodhouse, the Assembly of First Nations’ national chief, at her swearing-in ceremony in December. Photo by Matteo Cimellaro / Canada’s National Observer Canada’s National Observer: The price of doing nothing to adapt First Nation infrastructure to climate change will result in high costs for recovery, losses and redevelopment, according to an Assembly of First...
January 11, 2024
These Ontarians rely on roads made of snow and ice. But what happens when winter is too warm?
Higher than normal winter temperatures are sparking concern among remote First Nations communities in northern Ontario that rely on winter roads made of ice and snow to transport food, fuel and building supplies. Toronto Star: OTTAWA — Higher than normal winter temperatures are sparking concern among remote First Nations communities in northern Ontario that rely...
November 30, 2023
Chiefs of Ontario ask for judicial review of carbon price regime
APTN News: First Nations leaders in Ontario say Canada needs to fix what they call a “discriminatory” carbon price system, arguing the federal government failed to address their repeated concerns and blocked their exemption request only to then issue a carveout targeting Atlantic Canada. A group representing 133 First Nations in the province filed an...
October 23, 2023
Kwanlin Dün First Nation reacts to UN report on climate funding
‘They say, First Nations are going to help lead us … But do they put that into their practice?’ CBC Indigenous: The chief of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation in Yukon says he’s not surprised by the findings in a recent report from the United Nations. The UN’s Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples found that...
October 18, 2023
Climate change solutions need to keep Indigenous knowledge at centre of approach
“It all comes down to resources…Resources are very important to be able to do what we need to do to work together.” —interim National Chief Joanna Bernard AFN Quebec-Labrador Regional Chief Ghislain Picard Windspeaker.com:The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) has released its National Climate Strategy and is calling on all levels of government to “make...
August 1, 2023
NDP calls for emergency preparedness funding for First Nation communities
APTN News: The NDP is calling on the federal government to urgently invest into more emergency preparedness in First Nations communities. Last week, Nunavut MP Lori Idlout and Manitoba MP Niki Ashton sent a letter to Minister of Indigenous Services, Patty Hajdu, outlining First Nation’s urgent need for funding of emergency preparedness resources amidst the...
July 14, 2023
Wildfires are disproportionately harming Indigenous communities
CTV News: Canadian wildfires are disproportionately affecting Indigenous people at a greater rate than non-Indigenous Canadians, a recent report finds. The audit published in June by Indigenous Services Canada and authored by a Metis fire researcher, found that in the past 13 years, Indigenous communities had more than 1,300 wildfire-related emergencies leading to more than...
June 26, 2023
Feds underfunding emergency preparation in First Nations communities says report
Emergency management monitoring is lacking, says the Auditor General in a new report APTN News: A parliamentary committee says Indigenous Services Canada is failing to provide First Nations communities with adequate resources for emergency management to help mitigate the impacts of events like wildfires and floods. The standing committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs released...
June 23, 2023
Quebec wildfires: Cree community orders evacuation of 4K due to heavy smoke
By The Canadian Press | APTN National NewsJun 23, 2023 Almost 4,000 people fleeing nearby wildlife. Since the beginning of June, firefighters have been battling a record number of wildfires including this one outside Algonquins of Barriere Lake. Photo courtesy: Charlie Papatie A Cree community in northern Quebec was being evacuated Friday because of heavy smoke from a...
June 14, 2023
During the worst wildfire season this century, Indigenous communities need to consider their participation in resource extraction: says researcher
37 per cent of the total burned forest area in Western Canada and the United States between 1986 and 2021 can be traced back to 88 major fossil fuel producers and cement manufacturers. ‘These fires are a culmination of ongoing resource extraction projects’ says climate researcher APTN News: In light of increasing extreme weather and...
June 6, 2023
Algonquins of Barriere Lake members evacuated from territory as Quebec wildfires burn
‘It’s just a scary time for our community,’ says Chief Casey Ratt CBC News: As wildfires continue to blaze in several regions of Quebec, members of the Algonquins of Barriere Lake are on the frontline protecting their territory. “It’s devastating at the moment because we don’t know which way the fire will go today because of...
June 6, 2023
Spring wildfires costing Indigenous services ‘millions’ says minister
APTN News: The minister responsible for Indigenous services says her department is spending millions of dollars to support First Nations dealing with the early wildfire season. “The forecast doesn’t look good, it’s all across the country and the scientists are predicting severe wildfire risk for the months of June, July and August,” said Hajdu. According...
May 2, 2023
Climate change solutions becoming a ‘new way of colonizing’ Indigenous peoples, Inuit rep says
“We recognize our responsibility to our lands, waters and ice and future generations, and to our natural environment, so we have to be a part of this conversation with (the government) in equal ways.” —Dr. Amy Hudson WindSpeaker.com: Dr. Amy Hudson has returned from the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) with renewed...
April 28, 2023
Inuit want access to loss and damage fund, Inuit Circumpolar Council president says
NationTalk: Canada’s National Observer – Inuit want direct access to a global fund dedicated to addressing destruction caused by climate change, the president of the Inuit Circumpolar Council’s Canadian arm says. Lisa Koperqualuk says loss and damage funding is needed in Inuit Nunangat, the homeland for Inuit, which is warming four times faster than the global average. Canada’s...
March 20, 2023
Committee grills minister on failure to support First Nations during climate emergencies
‘The government should be ashamed,’ says NDP MP Blake Desjarlais as committee examines audit CBC News: Members of Parliament accused Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu of ducking accountability on Monday after the auditor general criticized her department’s ongoing failure to help First Nations deal with climate emergencies. Hajdu began the week flanked by her top...
January 25, 2023
Caribou summit asks a burning question: What’s the future of the Porcupine herd?
The Porcupine is ‘one of the biggest herds in the world.’ Will it stay that way? CBC News: The Porcupine caribou is one of the few barren-ground herds in the circumpolar world that remains strong and healthy — and the communities who rely on it want to make sure it stays that way. This was...
January 17, 2023
Open Letter to Prime Minister Trudeau on Perpetuating Climate Injustice Against First Nations
NationTalk: Dear Prime Minister Trudeau, Canada bears responsibility for the climate crisis that is driving humans to the precipice of a global catastrophe. While the Government of Canada has begun to acknowledge this crisis and has enacted some measures to try to help pull humanity back from the edge, two major problems characterize government action....
December 13, 2022
Indigenous Peoples have been the most effective stewards of animals and nature since time immemorial
Canada’s National Observer: About a million animal and plant species around the globe are on the verge of extinction — more than ever before in human history. As the world gathers in Montreal for COP15 (the UN biodiversity conference) to negotiate a deal to halt and reverse nature loss in the coming decade, calls to put Indigenous...
December 2, 2022
Government of Canada invests $3.8 million to support barren-ground caribou conservation in the Northwest Territories
Environment and Climate Change Canada: Caribou is an iconic species for Canadians and plays an important role in the culture and history of Indigenous peoples. The Government of Canada is determined to halt and reverse Canada’s biodiversity loss, and the decline of this species, by working in collaboration with the provincial and territorial governments, Indigenous...
November 21, 2022
World leaders must come out of their bubbles and hear other voices — especially Indigenous women — in climate-change debates
Indigenous people have unique relationships with their environment. If they listened, leaders would hear us urging a just transition away from fossil fuels. Toronto Star: World leaders making decisions around climate change must consider ideas originating beyond their own bubbles — especially those proffered by Indigenous people — if the problem is to be tackled...
October 13, 2022
‘Salmon are the heartbeat of our coast, our people, everything around us’
Coastal First Nations Community Storyteller Emilee Gilpin in conversation with Haíɫzaqv cultural leader and conservation manager Dúqva̓ísḷa, William Housty on Oct 11, 2022. Audio clips of the interview are included throughout the story. NationTalk: A shocking video of over 65,000 dead pink and chum salmon in Heiltsuk territory spread across social media last week and...
October 4, 2022
Put out wildfires before they begin with Indigenous fire stewardship
The Keremeos Creek wildfire southwest of Penticton, British Columbia on July 31, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS IMAGES/Don Denton Canadian governments need to better engage with Indigenous fire stewardship to counter increased wildfire occurrence and severity Policy Options: by James Michael Collie, Hannah Verrips After the Keremeos Creek wildfire swept through the southern Interior of British Columbia in August,...
March 26, 2021
Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act
The AFN, based on direction from the Chiefs-in-Assembly, intervened in this case, as well as court cases in Saskatchewan, Ontario and Alberta, arguing the Government of Canada has a direct legal obligation to recognize Aboriginal and Treaty rights in any legislative efforts to address climate change....
March 25, 2021
Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act
Westaway Law Group – The majority judges noted that climate change “has had particularly serious effects on Indigenous peoples, threatening the ability of Indigenous communities in Canada to sustain themselves and maintain their traditional ways of life.” [para 11] They also acknowledged that, “the effects of climate change are and will continue to be experienced...
March 25, 2021
Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act
Supreme Court finds that the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act 2018 is constitutional....
October 20, 2020
Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act
Toronto Star – The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) reserved judgement on whether the federal government’s Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act 2018 (GGPPA) is constitutional following hearings on September 22 and 23 with the United Chiefs and Councils of Mnidoo Mnising (UCCMM), along with the Anishinabek Nation (AN), granted intervener status. The GGPPA sets minimum...
September 27, 2019
Cree Nation imput into climate change policy
Cree Nation Government – Proposed government action must be inclusive of Cree observations and efforts in the fight against climate change. Our privileged relationship with the territory is fundamental to the proper and meaningful development of government policies on climate change for Eeyou Istchee. Government policies must take into account the experiences of Indigenous communities...
November 3, 2017
Canadian Council of Ministers of the Envronment must include Indigenous views
Assembly of First Nations – First Nations must be full participants in all meetings of Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) to ensure their voices are heard in environmental and climate change solutions. “Reconciliation has to include respect for our Elder’s traditional knowledge and our understanding of the lands and waters, the animals...
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