Rochelle Baker

Decoding the Major Projects Office, the centrepiece of Carney’s nation-building plans MPO’s creation reflects PM’s belief that government and its agencies need to better and more swiftly row in the same direction

Canadians shouldn’t have to resort to guessing about the main element of Mark Carney’s entire policy agenda.
It is fundamentally offensive, and antithetical to good governance and sound policymaking, that Carney is leaving everyone to guess why he’s doing what he’s doing.

BC and First Nations unite to defend tanker ban Premier David Eby and coastal First Nations signed a declaration on Wednesday calling on the federal government to defend BC's oil tanker ban.

“I don't see any prospect of a pipeline unless it is fully taxpayer funded, and the federal government forces it through provincial and indigenous objections," says BC Premier David Eby.

Eby and coast First Nations push Ottawa to honour oil tanker ban. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/11/06/n...

🔥 Mayor Brandon Johnson once again calls for a General Strike. He says the power of the Labor Movement & The Civil Rights Movement combining was what Dr King imagined.

Since the billionaires & elites have united, if we're going to beat back this tyranny, workers must be even more united than them.

Canada will remember.

Car headlights to be reviewed after drivers complain of being 'blinded' at night Concern over the glare from brighter headlamps is prompting the government to review vehicle design.

It’s not just dazzling headlights - the growing size of vehicles, especially SUVs, is making our roads more dangerous for smaller-car users, pedestrians, cyclists and children
#SUVAlliance

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Whenever people complain about the number of folks relying on food stamps, it is worth reminding them that SNAP is, by too large of a degree, a subsidy for corporations that refuse to pay a living wage and their political allies who reject public policy prescriptions to reduce income inequality.

It’s pronounced cyclist.

Amen.

Will I be the first to suggest the carbon offsets worked exactly as planned: they delayed real action for another 25 years

Danielle Smith announces Alberta will be the proponent in a new pipeline application Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced a new proposed pipeline on Wednesday to carry oil from Alberta to the West Coast. The province itself will be the proponent applying to the federal Major Proje...

Danielle Smith announces Alberta will be the proponent in a new pipeline application. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/10/01/n...

Canada’s wildlife woes show nature is foundational in nation-building From caribou to killer whales, Canada’s plummeting wildlife populations highlight the urgency of aligning 'major project' ambitions with biodiversity promises, a new WWF study shows.

After five decades of declining wildlife populations, now is not the time to walk back protections for biodiversity and habitats.

Protecting nature and boosting the economy are not mutually exclusive, but rather, interdependent goals.
🔗: @nationalobserver.com
✍️: @rochellebaker1.bsky.social
🌎

'Town killer': Ontario residents fight Ford’s fast-track landfill project When Ashley Khouathip left Toronto five years ago, she was looking for clean air for her five children, affordable housing and a slower pace of life. She wanted a place where kids could bike and fish ...

It's the first landfill proposal in the province selected for fast-tracking under Premier Doug Ford's newly enacted Bill 5 — which makes the project immune to many of the checks and balances it would otherwise face. Great story here from @matinsarfraz.bsky.social

Emily Lowan sweeps BC Greens leadership, takes aim at NDP The new BC Green Leader cast her win as a generational transformation based on energy and optimism from a flood of young party members that will transform politics in the province.

One way to read Lowan's victory is that progressives are hungry for bold change. We saw this in New York City, we've now seen this in the BC Greens, and as the federal NDP kicks off its leadership race this is clearly how the political winds are blowing.
www.nationalobserver.com/2025/09/24/n...

Mr. Eby doesn't mention that the electrical build-out he's lauding especially in northern BC is primarily to fuel the expansion of the LNG industry ... one of the fossil fuels burning up the planet. This at NY climate week. Flabbergasted.

screenshot from the Tyee BC Government Quietly Cuts $20-Million School Affordability Fund 'Transformative' program had allowed schools to cut fees and provide supplies to vulnerable students. Tyler Olsen Today Tyler Olsen is a senior editor at The Tyee.

Vancouver Island Free Daily screenshot B.C. seniors losing support with end of federal program Pilot program ending on Age Well at Home program Jennifer Smith Aug 11, 2025

Vancouver Sun screenshot B.C. health authority chops 57 jobs, 61 vacancies eliminated as more cuts to come: report A PHSA spokesperson confirmed the cuts are not those involving direct patient care, but are non- unionized, management positions By J.J. Adams Published Aug 09, 2025

Black Press screenshot B.C. school boards forced to make cuts, say they are all out of Band-Aids Teachers' unions and board trustees says reserves running dry as underfunding fuels layoffs, cuts to programming Mark Page Jul 3, 2025

Shut out of meetings, environmental groups fight for Carney's consideration Replaying the Trudeau-era strategy of influencing policy by lobbying high-level officials isn't working for climate groups who are now pivoting to an outsider game in an attempt to find leverage in th...

The Trudeau-era strategy of influencing policy by lobbying high-level officials isn't working for climate groups — who are now pivoting to an outsider game in an attempt to find leverage in the age of Carney.

Energy market reforms don't fix broken BC-Alberta power link Alberta’s new power market plan sidestepped fixes for the intertie with BC, which represents a lost opportunity for Ottawa's dreams of a national grid.

Alberta’s new power market plan sidestepped fixes for the intertie with BC, which represents a lost opportunity for Ottawa's dreams of a national grid.
www.nationalobserver.com/2025/09/17/a...

Call. Cancel. Spread the word.

#Disney #Kimmel #Hulu #ABC

Just canceled Disney+ under reasons for cancelation? "You canceled Jimmy Kimmel, we canceled you." Seems only fair. This is the way!

Mapping the dark-money oil and gas ads targeting a small Ontario town Dark money is paying for oil and gas ads on shadowy Facebook pages, all coordinated by a PR firm with oil and gas — and Conservative Party — connections. How did a small town in Southern Ontario find ...

I called five different numbers. Every single one led to the same man’s voicemail. My first investigative piece is out in Canada’s National Observer—uncovering a hidden fossil fuel ad network.

NDP eyes comeback with a return to the left After a ‘brutal’ election, the party is focused on contrasting itself with Carney’s ‘conservative’ tendencies.

Carney was criticized for “deceiving voters” during the election. He cloaked himself as the face of the “elbows up” movement and an alternative to the Conservatives — only to poach Poilievre’s policy and talking points after gaining power, NDP caucus said. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/09/11/n...

NDP eyes comeback with a return to the left After a ‘brutal’ election, the party is focused on contrasting itself with Carney’s ‘conservative’ tendencies.

The federal NDP plans to rebuild by reclaiming political ground on the left, interim party leader Don Davies said in an interview with Canada’s National Observer. Via @rochellebaker1.bsky.social www.nationalobserver.com/2025/09/12/n...

Pacific salmon monitoring takes a dive with DFO cuts Cutting creek walker contracts at the height of salmon spawning season is ‘gross mismanagement’ by Fisheries Canada, critics say.

Cutting creek walker contracts during salmon spawning season is ‘gross mismanagement’ by Fisheries Canada, critics say. The latest lapse is part of a DFO legacy of neglect in monitoring BC salmon returns on northern coast. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/09/05/n...

Critics and unions question merits of Ontario's return-to-office plan Some in the province are contending Premier Doug Ford’s decision makes no sense and his arguments aren’t backed by evidence while ignoring downsides such more congestion, higher emissions and the risk...

Critics contend that Premier Doug Ford’s decision makes no sense and his arguments aren’t backed by evidence while ignoring downsides such more congestion, higher emissions and the risk of losing skilled staff to more flexible employers. @nationalobserver.com www.nationalobserver.com/2025/08/27/a...

Threat of oxygen-poor 'dead zones' surfacing on BC central coast Half of the seafloor in BC's Queen Charlotte Sound could be oxygen deprived by mid-century due to climate change, with potentially nasty ripple effects for marine life and fisheries, a new study shows...

Half of the seafloor in BC's Queen Charlotte Sound could be oxygen deprived by mid-century due to climate change, with potentially nasty ripple effects for marine life and fisheries, a new study shows. #climatecrisis #pocketbookissues #bcpoli www.nationalobserver.com/2025/08/26/n...

Threat of oxygen-poor 'dead zones' surfacing on BC central coast Half of the seafloor in BC's Queen Charlotte Sound could be oxygen deprived by mid-century due to climate change, with potentially nasty ripple effects for marine life and fisheries, a new study shows...

Half of the seafloor in BC's Queen Charlotte Sound could be oxygen deprived by mid-century due to climate change, with potentially nasty ripple effects for marine life and fisheries, a new study shows.
✍️ @rochellebaker1.bsky.social
🔗 @nationalobserver.com
🌎

Oil and gas companies are pocketing most of BC's 'clean' industry funding The lion's share of CleanBC's Industry Funds last year went to fossil fuel projects, raising alarms about greenwashing and missed targets.

The lion's share of CleanBC's Industry Funds last year went to fossil fuel projects, raising alarm about greenwashing and missed targets. #bcpoli #climatecrisis #CleanBC www.nationalobserver.com/2025/08/20/n...

Plight of the Bumblebees A journey into the wild and not-so-wild world of bumblebees and the unintended consequences of domestication.

Bumblebees bumblebees bumblebees! My latest feature, for @biographic.bsky.social takes readers on a bumblebee safari into their wild, and domesticated, world few consider when eating greenhouse tomatoes: www.biographic.com/plight-of-th... #conservation 🦤 🧪 #bees

Trump administration sanctions Canadian judge who sits on International Criminal Court | CBC News The Trump administration slapped a Canadian judge on the International Criminal Court with sanctions as the U.S. State Department unleashes a new wave of restrictions against judges it said had been i...

Trump sanctioning Canadian ICC Judge Kimberly Prost is an attack on intl law. Canada must defend the court we helped found. Time to push back by counter-sanctioning Rubio, junior rat to the king rat.
www.cbc.ca/news/world/c...

West Coast fire takes a bite out of tourist season A road closure and power outage due to the out of control Mount Underwood wildfire are causing financial strain for the tourism-dependent community of Bamfield on Vancouver Island.

Mount Underwood wildfire threatens to wash out Bamfield's summer season. This one of TWO drought fuelled fires burning near Port Alberni. #pocketbookissues #climatechange #BCWildfires
www.nationalobserver.com/2025/08/15/n...