climate change

UCalgary awarded 2 prestigious Canada Excellence Research Chairs

UCalgary awarded 2 prestigious Canada Excellence Research Chairs

Deborah McGregor is an internationally celebrated scholar and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Environmental Justice. She joins UCalgary from York University, where she was cross-appointed to the Osgoode Hall Law School and the Faculty of Environment and Urban Change. As the CERC in Indigenous Ways of Climate and Water Sustainability for Planetary Health and Well-being, McGregor will generate understanding of, and build support for, Indigenous leadership in Earth-based reconciliation and justice, focusing on climate change as the overriding symptom of the planetary health crisis.

UCalgary awarded 2 prestigious Canada Excellence Research Chairs

UCalgary awarded 2 prestigious Canada Excellence Research Chairs

Deborah McGregor is an internationally celebrated scholar and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Environmental Justice. She joins UCalgary from York University, where she was cross-appointed to the Osgoode Hall Law School and the Faculty of Environment and Urban Change. As the CERC in Indigenous Ways of Climate and Water Sustainability for Planetary Health and Well-being, McGregor will generate understanding of, and build support for, Indigenous leadership in Earth-based reconciliation and justice, focusing on climate change as the overriding symptom of the planetary health crisis.

A coastal First Nation’s Guardians are ‘testing the water’ to prepare for climate change

A coastal First Nation’s Guardians are ‘testing the water’ to prepare for climate change

A coastal First Nation’s Guardian team is gearing up to test the waters to try to limit the impacts of drought in their traditional territories on northeast Vancouver Island. The We Wai Kai First Nation's environmental stewards are partnering with other local groups to map and monitor wetlands, watersheds and streams on Quadra Island as summers get hotter and drier, said Guardian program manager Shane Pollard. Drought in the northeastern Vancouver Island water basin, which includes We Wai Kai territory and Quadra Island, is increasingly common.

Massive tent celebrating Canada’s land, water ‘guardians’ raised on Parliament Hill

Massive tent celebrating Canada’s land, water ‘guardians’ raised on Parliament Hill

An Indigenous group has raised a large traditional tent on the lawn of Parliament Hill to celebrate a program that places agents known as “guardians” across Canada to care for lands and waters. The communal tent, known as a shaputuan in the Innu language, was organized by the Indigenous Leadership Initiative, a group that advocates for the guardian program nationally and promotes Indigenous-led conservation efforts.

B.C., Canada help farmers with climate adaptation, drought

B.C., Canada help farmers with climate adaptation, drought

B.C. farmers and ranchers can better prepare for and mitigate impacts of climate change, while continuing to support the province’s food security and a sustainable environment through funding from the governments of Canada and British Columbia. Funding is available via the Beneficial Management Practices (BMP) program. “The Government of Canada is committed to helping our agricultural producers mitigate the impacts of climate change,” said Lawrence MacAulay, federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. “This investment will offer B.C. farmers the support they need to adapt their operations to be more resilient to the impacts of climate change, while protecting food security and the environment for future generations.” 

4,000 square kilometres of land has burned near Sambaa K'e. What does that mean for fish?

4,000 square kilometres of land has burned near Sambaa K'e. What does that mean for fish?

After a wildfire tore through the forest around Kakisa, N.W.T., in 2014, Lloyd Chicot began noticing changes in the lake: the pickerel grew fatter, and the pelicans moved in. Chicot, the chief of Ka'a'gee Tu First Nation, attributes the change partly to climate change and partly to runoff from the fire, which brought nutrients and debris into the lake. "Right after the fire, there was a lot of burnt driftwood and that kind of stuff," he recalled.

At the 'tail end' of 2021 flood recovery, Fort Simpson, N.W.T., looks to the future

At the 'tail end' of 2021 flood recovery, Fort Simpson, N.W.T., looks to the future

On a sunny Tuesday evening in Fort Simpson, N.W.T., Derek and Julia Erasmus cook up a dinner of waffles and sausages as their two young daughters play outside.  Watching them, you wouldn't know just how difficult the past two years have been. They were one of 10 families who lost their house when the community flooded in 2021. "It's kind of just a huge life-changing event," Derek said. "We kind of thought we were going to retire in that house some day … then those plans were all gone after that."

Statement by the Prime Minister on World Water Day

Statement by the Prime Minister on World Water Day

Today, as we join the international community to mark World Water Day, we are reminded of our shared responsibility to protect access to clean, safe water here at home and around the world. There is no resource more essential to Canadians and the Canadian economy than clean water. Water ecosystems, when managed properly, help alleviate hunger, poverty, and illness, fight climate change, and support biodiversity. This year’s World Water Day theme, ‘Accelerating Change’, asks us to speed up our action to keep our water safe, clean, and sustainably managed.

How to bring Black and Indigenous voices into the climate discussion

How to bring Black and Indigenous voices into the climate discussion

Q: Black and Indigenous people are often the ones most affected by climate change, and yet they're not necessarily at the table in negotiations for solutions. How do we change that? A: We live in the most multicultural country in the world, we have the entire world within our borders. So that gives us access to a plethora of knowledge. But the issue that we tend to have is, when we invite people to the table to have discussions, it's in a very Western framework. We have a one-hour meeting where we're going to discuss X, Y, Z. But a lot of cultures don't work that way. There are a lot of Indigenous cultures that need to meet and spend weeks building relationships and having meals together without talking about business, and then slowly bring up business here and there.

Extreme drought, weather forcing cattle producers to thin herds at near-record numbers: industry experts

Extreme drought, weather forcing cattle producers to thin herds at near-record numbers: industry experts

An uptick in drought and other extreme weather events has beef producers in the U.S. and Canada thinning their herds in near-record numbers, which could lead to supply problems in the beef industry over the longer term, industry experts say. Producers will increasingly struggle with profitability amid the unpredictable seasons as climate change makes drought, flooding and wildfires more common, they say.