When it comes to progress on climate change negotiations, the best thing for Canada to do is to stay home and stop sabotaging the process, says the le...

This Thursday a new treaty is due to come into effect between Canada and China without debate or public discussion. It is called an Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA) with China. his agreement will allow both countries to go to binding arbitration at an international tribunal. Under this agreement, "unreasonable" attempts to stop foreign takeovers could be brought to this very arbitration board and either mandated to be allowed or incur huge fines against Canada. Unsurprisingly, a lot of Canadians, especially in the West, don't like the sound of that

The Canadian government introduced (another) sweeping omnibus budget bill on Thursday, changing as many as 60 different acts in a way that eliminates oversight from parliamentary committees. One of those acts -- the Navigable Waters Protection Act -- is one of Canada's most important and oldest pieces of environmental legislation. It preserved the age-old right of every individual to navigate Canadian waterways. The simple act of dipping oneʼs paddle into the water and pulling, propelling oneself forward -- such is an act that defines "Canada."

You probably didn't hear about the Rally for Clean Water that took place in Washington this weekend. A bunch of nice people gathering on Capitol Hill to offer informed, impassioned views on environmental policy doesn't make for front page news in Canada. You should know about the rally, though -- it's a rally for you and for me and for people who need clean water to survive. Which is, basically, everybody.

During this past week Arctic sea ice retreated to all-time lows, shattering the previous record set in 2007 by an area roughly the size of (ironically) Alberta. This past week, the much-anticipated new and improved federal regulations on greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired electricity plants leaked out. To no one's surprise, they are significantly weakened from what we had been told to expect.

Officially, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA) has abolished most federal environmental assessment screenings, but the practical effect is less than it appears. The new process looks a lot like the old screening EA, but with less clear rules about procedure, content, timing, public consultation and opportunities for appeal.