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Hog farm buildings are inundated with floodwater from Hurricane Florence near Trenton, N.C., in September 2018. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Hurricanes, hog manure and the dire need for carbon pricing

Cheap fossil fuels contort the global economy in ways that have systematically harmed some and benefited others. Justice demands that those of us who have benefited take responsibility.
Traffic crosses over the Lions Gate Bridge from North Vancouver into Vancouver, B.C., in July 2015. Canada is increasingly becoming a suburban nation, with more people living in car-dependent suburbs.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Canadians increasingly live in the auto-dependent suburbs

It’s easy to over-estimate crowding and traffic in highly visible downtown cores and underestimate the vast growth happening in the suburban edges of our metropolitan regions.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland arrive to hold a news conference on the United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) in Ottawa on Oct. 1, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

The winners and losers in the new NAFTA

Who are the winners and losers in the new USMCA? It’s complicated, but one thing’s for certain: Canada should never again allow itself to be overly dependent upon one trading partner.
The 2008 financial meltdown caused millions of Americans to lose their homes, and the austerity measures that followed only widened income inequality and helped fuel the rise of right-wing populism. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

How the 2008 financial crisis helped fuel today’s right-wing populism

Right-wing populists have exploited key weaknesses in liberal democratic society that were exacerbated by the failure of political leaders to respond effectively to the 2008 financial crisis.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gives a thumbs up as he arrives on Parliament Hill the morning after an agreement was reached on a new trade deal with Mexico and the U.S. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

NAFTA has been replaced, but at what cost to Canada?

The relief that the U.S. didn’t make things even worse for Canada in the new NAFTA should be tempered by the realization that the moment of reckoning hasn’t passed; it’s only been postponed.
A dilapidated house in the northern Ontario First Nation of Attawapiskat is seen in April 2016. The parliamentary budget officer says it will cost more than $3 billion to bring First Nations water infrastructure up to standards seen in comparable non-Indigenous communities. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

How Canada can, and must, empower Indigenous communities

If we continue to shut Indigenous communities out of the modern economy, critical infrastructure projects will continue to be delayed and natural resources will remain stuck in the ground.
A resident of Shoal Lake 40 First Nation is photographed while speaking about water and access issues in her community in February 2015. The Shoal Lake community, despite supplying water to the city of Winnipeg, has long been under a boil-water advisory and is only just getting year-round road access. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods

We fail our citizens in Canada – and the UN is onto us

Governments in Canada are routinely enacting public policies that primarily benefit economic elites, raising questions about government legitimacy and competency. Who’s looking out for us?
In less than a month, marijuana can be legally purchased from private retailers in Ontario and some other places across Canada. Are we ready for it? THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Are we really ready for privatized pot sales?

As marijuana legalization looms and we we contemplate the future of cannabis sales in Canada, there are still lots of questions for both the public and government to consider.
Industry representatives wear fitness trackers at the International Consumer Electronics Show in January 2014 in Las Vegas. Health and fitness information is being increasingly shared with insurance companies. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

Why life insurance companies want your Fitbit data

Insurer John Hancock now requires customers to use activity trackers for life insurance policies. Here’s how that will put life insurance and even mortgages out of reach for many people.
An Ottawa high school student looks at plain cigarette packaging examples on World No Tobacco Day in May 2016. Tobacco companies are railing against Ottawa’s plans for plain cigarette packaging in Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Big Tobacco’s opposition to plain packaging is plain spin

The Canadian government is currently drafting regulations on plain packaging for cigarettes. Tobacco companies are trying to weaken the regulations via lobbying and misleading PR campaigns.
In this July 2011 photo, an Inuit fisherman pulls in a fish on a sea filled with floating ice. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

The future of food is ready for harvest

A recent summit in Ottawa on what’s known as agroecology has shown that more equitable and sustainable methods of producing food are not only possible, they’re beginning to spread around the world.
Innovative queer pop-ups challenge arguments about the death and demise of queer spaces in the city. Here an image from 2069 Sci-fi Kiki Vogue Ball of the Future presented in collaboration with Ricecake, Vancouver. John Bello/Facebook

Queer pop-ups take us beyond the gaybourhood

Rapacious gentrification in Vancouver is part of the story and struggle for queer residents but queer pop-ups offer some respite.
In this June 2016 photo, a border patrol agent walks near the secondary fence separating Tijuana, Mexico, from San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

America needs more, not fewer, migrant workers

Free trade requires not just the free movement of goods, but of people too. If Donald Trump really wants the U.S. to have a competitive advantage, he should be encouraging more, not fewer, migrants.
The Second Cup Ltd. says it is actively reviewing locations in Ontario for potential conversion to cannabis stores in light of a decision by the new provincial government to allow private retailers to sell the drug. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

Cannabis with your coffee? Ontario could have thousands of pot retailers

Ontario must quickly create rules for cannabis stores. How the Ford government decides to regulate retailers will have a major impact on how many retailers will get into the business.
President Donald Trump tosses paper towels into a crowd at Calvary Chapel in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico in October 2017 following Hurricane Maria. Trump congratulated Puerto Rico for escaping the higher death toll of “a real catastrophe like Katrina.” A new study suggests almost 3,000 people died in Puerto Rico. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Politics and paper towels: Disputing disaster death tolls

As Trump fumes about the Hurricane Maria death toll, it’s clear that politics and political considerations often play an important role in how death toll estimates are communicated to the public.
Canadian troops arrive to a UN base in Gao, Mali, on in June 2018, amid an insurgency by jihadist and ethnic rebel groups. Canada has yet to impose sanctions on the African country because it lacks names to target for asset freezes and other measures. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Canada’s growing challenges with economic sanctions

The federal government has set aside $22.2 million to develop and co-ordinate sanctions while educating Canadians about their obligations. Where to start is the first question.
Why isn’t sustainability a part of accounting training? (Shutterstock)

It’s time to train accountants in sustainability

Despite the leaders of both countries being champions of fighting climate change, research shows both Canada and France are failing to train their accountants in sustainability. Why?
People hold artwork of various marine life and youth during a rally celebrating a recent federal court ruling against the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, in Vancouver, on Sept. 8, 2018. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck)

No quick or easy resolution to the Trans Mountain pipeline question

Contrary to what some have suggested, the uncertainty over the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion will be drawn out.
People buy fruits and vegetables in May 2017 at the Jean-Talon farmers market in Montreal. (Shutterstock)

A Canadian food policy moves closer to becoming a reality

A government report on an upcoming national food policy is an optimistic indication that it will result in both healthier and more sustainable food for Canadians and stronger agri-food industry.
In this April 2017 photo, Wisconsin dairy farmer Tim Prosser is seen with his cows. Canada’s tough stance on diafiltered milk via its supply-management system has caused hardship for farmers like Prosser, forced to consider selling their milking cows and shutting down family businesses. (AP Photo/Cara Lombardo)

How the dairy lobby’s cash grab put Canada in Trump’s crosshairs

Canadian dairy farmers were already well-heeled and well-protected from world market forces, but their cash grab over something called diafiltered milk has put the entire Canadian economy at risk.
Ride-hailing services have gone global, and even women in Saudi Arabia – only recently given the right to drive – are getting in on the action. In this June 2018 photo, a female driver for Careem, a regional ride-hailing Uber competitor, is seen behind the wheel. AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

Canada left behind as ride-hailing services go global

Canada is simply a consumer of ride-hailing services, and has not established any of its own Ubers or Lyfts, even as tiny countries like Estonia get in on the game. That needs to change.