Ontario Rivers Alliance

Hamilton, Sarnia residents file formal request for Ontario to fix its 'broken' air pollution policy | CBC News The cumulative effects policy is supposed to limit the amount of harmful carcinogens emitted by industry in the Hamilton and Sarnia areas. But it's not working, say environmental advocates.

Many facilities are granted a "patchwork of exemptions that prioritizes flexibility for polluters over consistent protection for people," said Borsuk. Under these exemptions, industries are allowed to emit above the province's air regulations. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

FIRST READING: The little-noticed Carney plan to ignore most of the laws Amendment buried in omnibus bill would allow cabinet ministers to bypass any non-criminal law they wanted, for whatever reason.

At what cost??? According to Bill C-15, the purpose of giving federal ministers extraordinary powers to override Canadian laws is necessary “to encourage innovation, competitiveness or economic growth.” nationalpost.com/opinion/litt...

Dams are beginning to collapse at a historic rate in Europe, rivers are being freed after decades of blockage, more than 500 barriers have been removed in a single year, almost 3.000 kilometers are flowing freely again, and an environmental movement is gaining momentum to reshape the future of water on the continent. In Europe, dam dismantling reached a new level in 2024: 542 barriers were removed in 23 countries, an 11% jump compared to the previous year, restoring free flow to more than 2.900 kilometers of rivers and reigniting a continent-wide environmental movement. Old dams and reservoirs, many of them obsolete, began to disappear from the map at an unusual pace, opening space for nature to resume processes interrupted for decades.

In 2024, 542 barriers were removed in 23 countries, a jump of 11% compared to the previous year, which restored the free flow to more than 2,900 kilometers of rivers and rekindled a continent-wide environmental movement. en.clickpetroleoegas.com.br/Dams-begin-t...

Toronto River Once So Polluted it Caught on Fire Now Is Flush with Fish As with so many rivers that bisect cities all along the Great Lakes Region, Toronto's River Don was so polluted in once caught fire.

After CAD$1 billion in restoration initiatives, however, for the first time in virtually anyone’s living memory, the Don River is clean and fishable, with ecologists recently confirming the presence of Atlantic salmon large mouth bass at every life stage... www.goodnewsnetwork.org/toronto-rive...

First Nations' Ring of Fire report calls for immediate environmental monitoring | The Narwhal Former Mushkegowuk Grand Chief hopes environment and health-related recommendations are met, despite Ontario’s June construction start

How can fast-tracking and bypassing environmental protection processes for Ring of Fire critical minerals possibly be called “clean” technology? thenarwhal.ca/ring-of-fire...

Top court asked to reopen climate case after Ontario scraps emissions target law Young activists behind a legal challenge of Ontario's climate plan are set to ask the province's highest court to revive their case.

"The courts have already found that Ontario’s 2030 target is inadequate. And so instead of fixing, Doug Ford chose to remove that law and the requirement for setting climate targets,” Thomson said in an interview Tuesday. Climate hero holding government to account. www.ctvnews.ca/northern-ont...

Carney’s government is cutting hundreds of environment and science jobs. Here’s what that means for Canadians | CBC Radio Scientists and labour leaders are warning that cuts to Environment and Climate Change Canada could significantly impact the health and safety of Canadians as well as Canada's wildlife and environment.

Check out what's happening at ECCC. Doesn't it remind you of Harper's war on science? At a time when climate change and its effects demand action, science is crucial! www.cbc.ca/radio/whaton...

NASA satellites help scientists observe how rivers carve the Earth Virginia Tech researchers show NASA’s SWOT satellite can track river change, sediment forces, and even dam failures at scale.

If SWOT helps researchers study rivers worldwide, the benefits could reach beyond academic curiosity. Better tracking of river change can improve how communities prepare for floods, erosion, and infrastructure risk. www.thebrighterside.news/post/nasa-sa...

Feds in talks with provinces as Ottawa prepares new national electricity strategy Energy Minister Tim Hodgson told reporters on Friday that strategy would be released in the "coming weeks" and it would focus on "taking down barriers between markets."

This Pan-Canadian Electricity Strategy is a farce, and so is the net-zero talk when they continue to greenwash hydropower, which accounts for 5-7% of global GHG emissions. Hydropower is not clean, green or non-emitting according to over three decades of studies. www.ipolitics.ca/2026/01/30/f...

Protecting the environment is good for B.C.’s economy | The Narwhal Job creation, tax revenue, small business support: why don’t B.C. politicians value the economic benefits of environmental protection?

First Nations rejecting oil tankers in their waters are not hindering the national economy, but arguing for a different balance of priorities. There’s more than one way to build an economy. thenarwhal.ca/environment-...

Feel like the world is on fire right now? 2025 was, too | CBC Climate Change News 2025 ranked as the third hottest year on record, barely behind the last two years, and one where regions of the world still saw dangerous and deadly heatwaves.

Environment and Climate Change Canada says summer sea ice cover across Canada's northern waters has declined by about seven per cent each decade since the late 1960s, when its records began. www.cbc.ca/news/climate...

Ontario’s proposed nuclear waste repository poses millennia-long ethical questions Such repositories raise complex ethical questions around public safety, particularly given the millennia-long timescales of nuclear waste.

Such repositories raise complex ethical questions around public safety, particularly given the millennia-long timescales of nuclear waste: How to address intergenerational issues for citizens who did not produce this waste but will inherit it? theconversation.com/ontarios-pro...

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...

Last week, the federal government formally designated the proposed Wesleyville project for a federal environmental impact assessment, opening the door to public consultation. Fulfilling the dream to become an "Energy Superpower" will cost ratepayers dearly. www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/22/n...

Germany removes more than 120 small dams, unblocks hundreds of kilometers of rivers that have been blocked for decades, and bets on the return of salmon and eels after a century of interruption. Germany is removing more than 120 small dams, reconnecting hundreds of kilometers of rivers, and betting on the return of salmon and eels after a century of disruption.

Among the symbols of this rebirth are long-distance migratory fish, especially the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and European eel (Anguilla anguilla). Both were abundant in Germany until the end of the 19th century, but barriers reduced their populations. en.clickpetroleoegas.com.br/alemanha-rem...

Nuclear fusion would be a clean-energy game changer. How close is it to being a reality? | CBC Climate Change News Recent nuclear fusion news from Canada and China has created a buzz. Meanwhile, new fusion startups have been popping up around the world, and have drawn billions in private investment. But how close ...

Scientists say they’ve produced a fusion reaction that creates a net energy gain, a major breakthrough in the decades-long quest to create limitless, cheap green energy through nuclear fusion. Still be years before this science is used to generate sustainable power. www.cbc.ca/news/science...

2026 will likely be among the hottest on record: Environment Canada | CBC News Environment and Climate Change Canada released a new global forecast indicating that 2026 will likely be among the four hottest years on record.

Environment and Climate Change Canada is not the only one predicting another hot year. The non-profit Berkeley Earth expects 2026 to be similar to 2025, being the fourth-warmest year since 1850. Last year was the third-warmest year behind only 2024 and 2023. www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

Massive increase in nuclear power rates. Welcome to 2026! By Angela Bischoff, Director Ontario Clean Air Alliance  January 12th, 2026 BURLINGTON, ON   If you thought life was going to get more affordable, we have some very bad news. To kick off the N…

Get ready--huge rate hikes are coming, and that's after a 29% rate hike last November. Let's hope this is the end of the Ford government! burlingtongazette.ca/massive-incr...

U of T atmospheric physicists find error in widely cited Arctic snow cover observations For decades, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has offered a snapshot of the planet’s changing climate – but University of Toronto researchers have found that some o...

Showing how and why the snow cover trend was wrong helps us learn how to use this data set properly when we're estimating past conditions and future trends. And that helps in understanding whether climate models are accurate. www.utoronto.ca/news/u-t-atm...

'They are going to disappear': Western Canada glaciers face bleak future - The Weather Network Climate change is having a tremendous impact on Western Canada glaciers, which experienced their second-worst year of ice loss on record in 2025, according to a B.C. researcher and professor

"We have to understand that it's not a question of if the glaciers are going to disappear, they are going to disappear," said Menounos, in a CBC interview. "What we're finding is that these glaciers are disappearing much faster than previously projected. www.theweathernetwork.com/en/news/clim...

Why northern First Nations still rely on diesel fuel — and what could power the coveted Ring of Fire NESKANTAGA FIRST NATION — This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center. — The fumes coming through the walls of Neskantaga First Nation’s nursing station warned of a crisis with a familiar smell. D...

Gull Bay First Nation, whose lands were flooded by hydroelectric projects in the 20th century, partnered with Ontario Power Generation on a solar grid project to help reduce diesel generation in what was billed as an act of reconciliation. halifax.citynews.ca/2025/12/10/w...

Profits at the expense of communities; over 200 private hydropower plants in 15 years - Citizens.al An analysis of the expansion of hydropower plants in Albania: conflicting permits, impact on rivers and clashes with communities.

"Green energy" at a dark cost! The hydropower model in Albania has been sold as "a green model", but in reality it has brought irreversible ecological and economic damage at local, but also national levels. citizens.al/en/2025/12/2...

Mongolian scientists are studying the Klamath River for insights into the cost of dams As the northeast Asian country looks to expand hydroelectric power, scientists from there are studying the undamming of a California river.

It’s so expensive for us Mongolians to construct these dams, but it’s also so expensive to remove the dams. Mongolian officials and scientists are grappling with the same issues found in the U.S. — balancing clean energy production with conservation. www.opb.org/article/2025...

World slammed by extreme weather in 2025, one of the hottest years on record | RCI Heat waves emerged as the deadliest disasters of the year.

It was the first time that the three-year temperature average broke through the threshold set in the 2015 Paris Agreement of limiting warming to no more than 1.5 C since preindustrial times. ici.radio-canada.ca/rci/en/news/...

Severe drought leads to urgent order for Manitoba Hydro to raise rates by 4% on Jan. 1 | CBC News Manitoba Hydro rates will rise four per cent on Jan. 1 as part of an interim general rate hike the Public Utilities Board says it has ordered "on an urgent basis because of a severe drought."

Federal and Ontario provincial governments are planning a huge surge in new hydropower to become an Energy Superpower. Yet, climate change and 4 years of drought have left water levels at their lowest in 117 years. Does this sound like a good strategy? www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Internal government records flag gaps in federal dam oversight - Prince Albert Daily Herald Sonal GuptaLocal Journalism Initiative ReporterCanada's National Observer Hydroelectric dams on public lands are at growing risk of failure because the department responsible for them has no engineers...

Privacy request, calls the state of affairs “unsustainable” at the Ministry for Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, and cautions the federal government could face legal liability if any dams fail. paherald.sk.ca/internal-gov...

How Are U.S. Dams Holding Up? New Satellite Data Warns of Trouble There's never been a giant dam failure in the US modern era, and a team of researchers is looking to keep it that way.

A team of researchers is using satellite data to investigate large hydroelectric dams in the U.S., and preliminary results reveal that some dams that should have been stabilized were still sinking, possibly affecting their structure. gizmodo.com/how-are-u-s-...

The world is far off track from its climate goals, scientists and environmental groups warn - The Weather Network Martin Kaiser, head of Greenpeace Germany, told dpa the Paris Agreement remained a global compass for climate policy but said it would only stay relevant if major economies, particularly the G20, clos...

We're losing sight of the biggest threat to humanity and the natural world! We must get back on track! www.theweathernetwork.com/en/news/clim...

UN says world must jointly tackle issues of climate change, pollution, biodiversity and land loss The most comprehensive global environment assessment ever undertaken calls for a new approach to jointly tackle the most pressing environmental issues including climate change and biodiversity loss th...

You can’t think of biodiversity loss without thinking about the implications of climate change and pollution. They’re all undermining our economy, worsening health and poverty, threatening food and water security and even national security www.stalbertgazette.com/health/un-sa...

The Narwhal’s press freedom case against the RCMP, explained Stay informed about The Narwhal and Amber Bracken’s lawsuit against the RCMP as we fight for press freedom in B.C. Supreme Court

Press freedom is essential in supporting our democracy! Please support the Narwhal in their fight for press freedom and for their award-winning journalism! thenarwhal.ca/press-freedo...

How the renewed push for critical minerals puts Canadian waters at risk Canada allows mines to use natural bodies of waters as dump sites for waste, even when there are other options. As governments look to expand the sector, some are concerned we’re fast-tracking more wa...

Using lakes, rivers and wetlands as landfill will ruin them forever, require perpetual environmental monitoring and potentially spread pollution. They’ll no longer be available for fishing or recreation, or as sources of clean water. www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/05/a...