May 19, 2022 A brief summary of the major Ontario party platforms on climate and energy issues for the June 2022 election is available here on the Sustainable Energy Initiative website. The Overall Assessment is as follows: The PC Government …
Four ways Doug Ford has changed the province’s politics
Published in The Conversation, May 17, 2022, The Hamilton Spectator, May 28, 2022. The dismal environmental record of the Doug Ford government in Ontario is well-documented. Despite some recent moves on “greening” the steel sector and electric vehicle manufacturing initiatives, …
Assessing the Ford Government’s Record on Environment and Climate Change
Versions published in The Conversation, May 3, 2022, The National Post, May 4, 2022, The Toronto Star, May 12, 2022. As Ontarians prepare to head for the polls on June second, the Ford government’s pre-election advertising campaigns are starting to …
Is Doug Ford’s ‘red tape’ cutting helping to fuel the GTHA housing affordability crisis?
April 8, 2022 Published in the Hamilton Spectator, April 18, 2022 Last week the Ford government introduced its latest response, in the form of new legislation (Bill 109), to the housing affordability crisis in GTHA. Consistent with the government’s overall …
Ontario on track to see major increases in greenhouse gas emissions Add pollution and costs from electricity generation to that list too
Published in the Hamilton Spectator, December 19, 2021 Mark Winfield and Colleen Kaiser The Ontario Independent Electricity System Operator’s (IESO) Annual Planning Outlook report released last week contains some very bad news for Ontarians in terms of greenhouse gas (GHG) …
How the war in Ukraine will shape Canada’s energy and climate policies
Published in The Conversation, March 7, 2022; Hamilton Spectator, March 15, 2022; The Toronto Star, March 9, 2022 Major wars are often watershed moments in history. Their outcomes define governance structures, politics and policy directions for decades, even centuries, to …
Giving developers free reign isn’t the solution to the GTHA housing challenges
Published in the Conversation February 3, 2022; The Nation Post February 4, 2022, The Hamilton Spectator, February 19, 2022 Recently, concerns have peaked over skyrocketing housing prices, the lack of affordable housing and intensive development pressures in the Greater Toronto …
Ontario nuclear announcement begs question of what constitutes “clean” or “non-emitting” electricity
Published in Policy Options January 27, 2022 December 8, 2021 By Mark Winfield and Colleen Kaiser Last week Ontario Power Generation (OPG) announced its identification of GE Hitachi as the vendor for a proposed new 300MW nuclear power reactor at …
Ontario is nowhere to be found at climate summit
October 28, 2021 Next week’s international summit in Glasgow, Scotland is shaping up to be a defining event in the global fight against climate change. While Prime Minister Trudeau, and federal environment minister Steven Guilbeault will be there, Ontario’s Minister …
Election 2021: Implications for Climate and the Environment
September 2021 The outcome of last week’s election – a Liberal minority dependent on the NDP or Bloc Quebecois for support – has been widely seen as having a ‘groundhog day’ aspect to it, leaving things pretty as they were …