Move to replace fossil fuel fleet with EVs is essential, but there are things to do first With their futuristic designs and new technology, electric vehicles are the seductive consumer-friendly face of the energy transition. As first incarnated by Tesla, the EV is increasingly seen as sleeker, slicker, faster and more stylish than traditional internal combustion engine cars and trucks that burn those dirty fossil fuels blamed for disrupting weather patterns and killing off species. For people with money and a conscience, EVs are doubly satisfying. They allow the affluentRead more

If the skies co-operate, get to a dark-sky location for the best viewing The nights are longer as the cold weather settles in, but that’s a good thing if you love to stargaze. And this week is a perfect time to turn your eyes to the skies. On Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning, the most active meteor shower of the year peaks. The Geminid meteor shower is an annual shower that the American Meteor Society has deemed to be the “most dependable” shower of the year. And that’s withRead more

Higher numbers could be due to climate change and habitat loss There’s an “eruption” of cardinals in parts of northeastern Ontario, according to the Sudbury Ornithological Society. An eruption occurs when a particular bird species expands to a new area because of more available food or a dense population spreads out. Nearly half of the world’s birds are on the decline, which experts say is a serious threat to ecosystems “This year there seems to be a lot of sightings in very strange locations like northern communities where they’re not usuallyRead more

Bank of Canada raised benchmark interest rate 7 times this year to fight inflation Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said Monday the risk of not rising rates enough and having inflation run wild is greater than the risk of raising them too much and fuelling a recession. “We are trying to balance the risks of over- and under-tightening monetary policy,” Macklem told a business audience in Vancouver on Monday. It’s the last time Macklem is scheduled to speak publicly in 2022, a year that has seen Canada’s central bank raiseRead more

It was a quiet January day in 2020 when the chief administrative officer of a southwestern Manitoba rural municipality noticed the series of unusual cash withdrawals from its bank account. She quickly alerted her assistant, showing how money had been sent to multiple bank accounts the municipality had never dealt with. “It was just kind of like a mad scramble to try and figure out what was going on,” said Kate Halashewski, who at the time was the assistant chief administrative officer for the Municipality of WestLake-Gladstone. “As the day went on and [we’re] digging through the paperwork … it’sRead more

Some insiders want Alberta’s premier to avoid her own impulses and tendencies There’s a heady moment from the first season of The West Wing — the Aaron Sorkin drama series that launched a thousand political clichés — where fictional president Jed Bartlet gets confronted by his chief of staff about struggles in his re-election campaign. It turns out they’re both weary of adviser over-management and Bartlet’s cautious, middle-of-the-road positions. The prez wants to speak out. Leo, his aide, sketches out the beginnings of the new strategy for a less restrained candidate. In big markerRead more

USPS says Vancouver Island marmot is a ‘symbol of conservation’ The endangered Vancouver Island marmot is having a moment. The chubby little rodent was featured on the Netflix docuseries Island of the Sea Wolves earlier this year. Now, it’s on a U.S. postal stamp — one of a new collection featuring 20 endangered species. As its name would suggest, the marmot is found solely on Vancouver Island. It’s puzzling, perhaps, that a U.S. institution would include it in an American collection. The U.S. postal stamp featuring the Vancouver Island marmot, an animalRead more

Hockey Canada scandal and its fall-out a sensitive topic for junior players Speaking to junior hockey teams across Manitoba, Brock McGillis, one of the first professional hockey players to come out as gay, challenges players to share interests outside of the “safe four topics” of conversation — hockey, women, sports and music. At the beginning of this year’s hockey season, the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) arranged for every one of its teams to hear a presentation from the LGBTQ advocate. It’s part of the league’s commitment to addressing criticisms thatRead more

‘How many other women are they not looking for?’ Cambria Harris asks from Brady Road landfill blockade WARNING: This story contains distressing details. People visiting the Brady Road landfill south of Winnipeg on Sunday afternoon were turned away as protesters blocked access to the waste management facility to call on all levels of government to search for the remains of missing people. Cambria Harris, the eldest daughter of Morgan Harris — one of four victims of alleged serial killer Jeremy Skibicki — wants the federal government to pick up the tab forRead more

Indigenous lands contain about 80% of Earth’s remaining biodiversity Behind the rainbow-tinted windows of Montreal’s Palais des congrès, the hallways of the sprawling downtown convention centre hum with activity as international delegates hurry from one meeting to the next during the United Nations biodiversity summit, COP15. A total of 195 nations plus the European Union have a seat at the negotiating table as world governments meet on the traditional land of Kanien’kehá:ka Nation to hash out a global biodiversity framework. The framework aims to save nature from the brink by cutting pollution, ensuringRead more