Matin Sarfraz

Matin Sarfraz

@matinsarfraz.bsky.social

Reporter @NatObserver | Alumni @HKuniversity| @JMSCHKU| Previously for @NYTIMES @DPA @Reuters & @Pajhwok

138 Followers 185 Following 93 Posts Joined Nov 2024
4 days ago
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Ford's plans for Toronto island airport raise fears of noise, pollution The Premier’s push to take over Toronto’s Billy Bishop airport and allow jets on its runway is drawing criticism from residents and experts who warn of increased noise and pollution in Canada’s most d...

Ford’s airport plan also reflects his growing obsession with Toronto’s waterfront and a broader pattern of stepping into the city’s territory and taking control of key assets and revenue streams. for @nationalobserver.com www.nationalobserver.com/2026/03/12/n...

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4 days ago
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Ford government ignores backlash in push to merge conservation authorities Ontario is pressing ahead with plans to centralize its control of Ontario's conservation authorities, despite warnings from municipalities and environmental groups that the changes will weaken local w...

Critics say the overhaul is the latest step in the Ford government’s long-running effort to curb the influence of conservation authorities — agencies that have pushed back against the government’s moves to fast-track development.

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5 days ago
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Civic Searchlight is now free to use You can sign up right now to access our ever-growing database covering hundreds of Canadian municipalities, no subscription required. Search 59,000 hours and counting of transcribed public meetings, a...

As of today, you can sign up to access the 59,000+ hours of municipal transcripts from across Canada. For free.

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1 week ago
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Canada’s first large-scale battery plant opens in Windsor Canada's first large-scale battery plant has already produced more than one million cells and created 1,300 jobs in its first months of operation — and is backed by nearly $16 billion in government su...

The facility is a 4.2-million-square-foot factory in WIndson, Ont., built by South Korea’s LG Energy Solution, and represents roughly a $5-billion investment, the company said on Thursday.

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1 week ago
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Phones, laundry machines and more: Canadians keep tossing valuable materials in the trash

Canadians are tossing out electronics faster than ever — many before they break — a trend researchers say will double the country’s e-waste by the end of the decade. for @nationalobserver.com

www.nationalobserver.com/2026/03/05/n...

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1 week ago
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One data centre or one million homes? Mapping Ontario's proposed hyperscaler boom Canada’s National Observer found and drew from multiple sources to put together a map of planned data centres in Ontario, and found at least 15 projects with a combined capacity of 2,202 MW currently ...

The government wouldn't give us a list of data centres seeking power in Ontario.

So, we built one ourselves.

What @rorywh.bsky.social and I found: at least 15 projects drawing a combined 2,202 MW: more electricity than 2 million homes.

#OnPoli for @nationalobserver.com 🧵

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2 weeks ago
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Poilievre pitched a critical mineral stockpile. An industry expert says it's not so simple A leading critical minerals expert is throwing cold water on the Conservative leader's proposal, which he said would give Canada leverage in trade talks with the United States.

According to Poilievre’s plan, a stockpile would strengthen Canada’s resilience and negotiating position while remaining sovereign assets. An expert claims the real vulnerability is not a lack of minerals but a lack of domestic processing.

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2 weeks ago
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Pierre Poilievre says Canada is to blame for Trump tariff crisis Speaking at the Economic Club of Canada, Poilievre said domestic policy failures have left Canada vulnerable to tariffs and economic pressure from the US after decades of close economic integration br...

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre used a wide-ranging speech in Toronto on Thursday to argue that slow permits, high taxes, changing rules and development “bans” weakened Canada’s trade position. by @matinsarfraz.bsky.social www.nationalobserver.com/2026/02/26/n...

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2 weeks ago
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Pierre Poilievre says Canada is to blame for Trump tariff crisis Speaking at the Economic Club of Canada, Poilievre said domestic policy failures have left Canada vulnerable to tariffs and economic pressure from the US after decades of close economic integration br...

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre used a wide-ranging speech in Toronto on Thursday to argue that slow permits, high taxes, changing rules and development “bans” weakened Canada’s trade position.

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2 weeks ago
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Ontario’s right-to-repair fight heads to Queen’s Park Nearly two million Ontarians searched online last year for help repairing phones, appliances, vehicles and equipment instead of replacing them — a sign of growing frustration with products that are ha...

Nearly two million Ontarians searched online last year for help repairing phones, appliances, vehicles and equipment instead of replacing them — a sign of growing frustration with products that are hard or too expensive to fix, advocates say.

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2 weeks ago
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Ontario cities fight to end Enbridge’s ‘free ride’ on public land as agreements come up for renewal For decades, the gas utility has run pipelines beneath the roads and parks in Guelph — and many other Ontario municipalities — without paying a cent to the cities hosting the infrastructure. Municipal...

Dozens of municipalities across the province are now joining the push to make Enbridge pay for the right of way it has used for decades for free. for @nationalobserver.com Ca.https://www.nationalobserver.com/2026/02/23/news/ontario-cities-enbridge-land-use

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2 weeks ago
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Juno News scraps plan to run residential school denial film after investigation by CNO The decision comes after Canada's National Observer determined a producer listed on the film's trailer credits — Simon Hergott — has published several videos and comments on his public YouTube channel...

The filmmaker who was supposed to make this residential school denial film had a YouTube account full of Nazi propaganda, Holocaust denial, caustic racism and antisemitism and conspiracy theories.

Too much even for Juno News.

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3 weeks ago
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Ontario fast-tracks major gold mine despite federal review and Indigenous concerns The Ford government is fast-tracking approvals for one of Canada’s largest proposed gold mines in northwestern Ontario, despite pushback from First Nations over environmental and health concerns that ...

The project — Kinross Gold’s Great Bear mine near Red Lake town — is the first gold mine to move through Ontario’s new “One Project, One Process” framework.  for @nationalobserver.com www.nationalobserver.com/2026/02/19/n...

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3 weeks ago
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Four decades of road salt take their toll on Toronto’s waterways After a record-breaking snowstorm, melting ice is flushing tonnes of road salt into Toronto’s waterways. New data shows how much the city uses and why experts say the real problem may lie in the priva...

Nearly five million tonnes of salt has been added to Toronto’s lakes, rivers and groundwater over the past four decades that never would have been there if not for the city’s road salting — and that's not accounting for private spaces, @cloelogan.bsky.social reports.

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1 month ago
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Corb Lund wants to 'save the soul' of Alberta from coal On Tuesday, Elections Alberta approved a citizen's initiative petition spearheaded by Albertan country singer Corb Lund that would force the provincial government to ban coal in the Eastern Rockies.

"Well they can drill or they can mine,
On my smouldering bones,
This my prairie,
And this is my home."

How the guy who wrote that line presents a different vision of Albertans to a world that more often sees a caricature.

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1 month ago
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Experts 'don't buy' online claims Tumbler Ridge shooter a far-right sympathizer With far-right ideology called into question, what do we know about what drove the shooter to mass murder?

In the aftermath of the Tumbler Ridge shooting, the shooter's trans identity has prompted disinformation the BC Human Rights Commissioner called "incorrect, irresponsible and frankly dangerous."

But other rumours have pinned the shooter's motive on far-right ideology — an explanation experts doubt.

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1 month ago
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Ford says Gordie Howe bridge will open despite ‘fiction’ from Trump Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the Gordie Howe International Bridge between Windsor and Detroit will open as planned, brushing off US President Donald Trump’s threat to block the project as political ...

Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Ford said Trump’s claims that the United States should own at least half of the bridge and it was built with “virtually no US content" are “fiction,” arguing the project is too important to both economies to be derailed.

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1 month ago
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Waterloo councillors push Ford government over water permits The Ford government is under pressure from municipalities, political opposition and local advocates to pause commercial water-taking permits after the Region of Waterloo hit a water capacity limit so ...

As the Region of Waterloo struggles with a growing water shortage, recent council meetings have been dominated by debate over provincial water-taking permits in the region. for @nationalobserver.com www.nationalobserver.com/2026/02/06/n...

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1 month ago

Important reporting from my colleague @matinsarfraz.bsky.social

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1 month ago
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Carney replaces EV sales mandate with rebates Prime Minister Mark Carney is doing away with the EV availability standard, promising to replace it with more stringent tailpipe regulations and rebates to encourage Canadians to buy EVs.

PM Carney's new auto strategy dropped Feb. 5.

Out: the EV availability standard (which would have required 100% EV sales by 2035)

In: a $2.3B EV rebate program and more stringent tailpipe emissions regs (aiming for 75 percent EV adoption rate by 2035)

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1 month ago
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ICE confirms armoured vehicle contract with Ontario company as Ford seeks distance US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has confirmed it will buy armoured vehicles made by a Brampton-based defence manufacturer to support its enforcement operations, as pressure mounts on Prem...

In a statement to Canada’s National Observer, an ICE spokesperson said the vehicles will be used “to keep officers and the public safe” during what the agency described as “high-risk lawful immigration enforcement activities.”

This is the first time the agency has confirmed the contract.

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1 month ago
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Canadian athletes and fans want fossil fuel sponsors out of the Olympics, poll finds As Canada’s teams, sponsored in part by Petro-Canada, prepare to head to Italy for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan–Cortina, Podborski is among thousands of Canadians surveyed who argue the Games sho...

A survey by the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) shows Canadians overwhelmingly love winter sports and many want fossil fuel companies removed from Olympic sponsorship because of climate change concerns. www.nationalobserver.com/2026/02/03/n...

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1 month ago
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Canadian athletes and fans want fossil fuel sponsors out of the Olympics, poll finds As Canada’s teams, sponsored in part by Petro-Canada, prepare to head to Italy for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan–Cortina, Podborski is among thousands of Canadians surveyed who argue the Games sho...

A survey by the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) shows Canadians overwhelmingly love winter sports and many want fossil fuel companies removed from Olympic sponsorship because of climate change concerns.

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1 month ago
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'They're trying to replace us': the conspiracy theories driving the man behind Alberta separatism Mitch Sylvestre says the Canadian government is criminal, he has fears of a communist takeover and he's 'cured of federalism.' Arno Kopecky spoke with him about the allegations of coordination with US...

The ideas animating the man behind Alberta's separatism petition range from the pedestrian — "attacks" on Alberta's oil sector from Ottawa — to the fringe and beyond. Speaking with him this morning, @arnokopecky.bsky.social drew out several startling admissions.

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1 month ago
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Ontario fast-tracks major transmission line to power Ring of Fire mining projects The Ford government is fast-tracking a 230-kilometre-long electricity transmission line to the Ring of Fire, saying it is needed to deliver clean power to northern Ontario to support mining developmen...

Ontario fast-tracks major transmission line to power Ring of Fire mining projects. for @nationalobserver.com www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/28/n...

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1 month ago
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The Winter Olympics are running out of winter Warming winters are reducing the number of places that can host the Winter Olympics and Paralympics and could soon force the games to be held earlier in the winter, a new Canadian-led study finds.

The Winter Olympics – ironically sponsored by Petro Canada – are running out of winter www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/27/n...

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1 month ago
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The Winter Olympics are running out of winter Warming winters are reducing the number of places that can host the Winter Olympics and Paralympics and could soon force the games to be held earlier in the winter, a new Canadian-led study finds.

The Winter Olympics are running out of winter. For @nationalobserver.com www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/27/n...

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1 month ago
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Nuclear project with locals opposed will get federal review The Ford government is moving ahead on one of the largest nuclear projects in the world in Port Hope, which has a complicated history of nuclear contamination. Local residents who have grappled with t...

In its own documents, the Ontario Power Generation says it is not considering alternatives to the Wesleyville project itself. It describes nuclear expansion as a policy decision already made by the province.  for @nationalobserver.com www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/22/n...

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1 month ago
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Ontario court victory lets gardens grow wild On Jan. 6, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled that the City of Mississauga’s nuisance weed and tall grass bylaw violated resident Wolf Ruck’s Charter right to freely express himself in the fo...

Ontario court victory lets gardens grow wild. By @natashabulowski.bsky.social for @nationalobserver.com www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/16/n...

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1 month ago
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Tens of thousands of marine animals killed or maimed by 'ghost gear' Federal data collected over four years have shown that derelict fishing gear is an underestimated threat. Some experts say it is diminishing both ocean life and fisheries.

Nearly 86,000 marine animals were caught up in “ghost gear” between 2020 and 2023, according to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) data obtained by Canada’s National Observer through an access to information request, via @rochellebaker1.bsky.social   www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/16/n...

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