Tag Archives: John Woodside

Politics

There is no easy way for Canada to de-escalate the trade war

By John Woodside, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

As a federal election kicks off, the trade war with the U.S. is casting a long shadow  over voters’ choices, and whoever forms the next government will have  the tall order of trying to draw this conflict to a close. 

“President  Trump wants to break us so America can own us,” said Liberal Leader  Mark Carney at a campaign stop in Gander, NL on Monday. “We are over the  shock of betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons. We have to  look out for ourselves.”

International trade experts interviewed by Canada’s National Observer say  that will be much easier said than done. The two economies are more  integrated than ever before, and President Donald Trump’s chaotic  governing style makes it extremely difficult to know how to even begin  to unravel this dispute. 

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Politics

Carney’s cabinet selections clarify climate priorities before upcoming election

By John Woodside, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

With an election widely expected to be around the corner, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s  choice of cabinet ministers reveals his approach to this tense political  moment, observers say. 

For voters who  care about climate, the headline is that former Environment and Climate  Change Minister Steven Guilbeault, the longtime environmental activist  who has frequently drawn the ire of conservatives and the fossil fuel  industry, has been shuffled to a new far less controversial role. No  longer overseeing policies aimed at slashing emissions, from the carbon  price to oil and gas emissions cap, he will now serve as Carney’s Quebec  Lieutenant — the government’s leading voice in Quebec — as well as  Minister of Parks Canada and Minister of Canadian Culture and Identity. 

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Cost of Climate Change, Politics

Middle ground is collapsing on climate action, Canada concedes in submission to UN

By John Woodside, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Polarization is gripping the country and the centre isn’t holding, Environment and  Climate Change Canada found when setting the country’s latest emissions  reduction target. 

The department solicited  feedback from provincial and territorial governments, Indigenous  groups, think tanks and the public to determine what Canada’s  internationally binding 2035 pollution reduction obligations should be.  It was a monumental effort with over 11,000 participants, more than  23,000 comments, and just over 100 official submissions. The results  found that overcoming polarization is a major hurdle to implementing  aggressive emissions reductions that climate scientists say is required to avoid catastrophic warming. 

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Cost of Climate Change, Politics

Canada’s 2035 climate ambition was weakened by the new Trump reality

By John Woodside, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

When U.S. President Donald Trump was elected in November, Canadian officials issued a  weaker than expected 2035 emission reduction target to account for the  new political reality.

In an interview with Canada’s National Observer,  Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said that  after the U.S. election, the government looked at the opportunities and  weighed the risks. Competitiveness was top of mind, more so than tariff  threat, he said.

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Politics

Liberals’ climate wing backs Carney for leader

By John Woodside, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The climate wing of the Liberal Party is rallying around Mark Carney, offering the former central banker credibility on a file the Grits see as their competitive advantage over Conservatives.

This week Carney picked up endorsements from Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson (who previously served as environment minister), and MP Ryan Turnbull, a major proponent of sustainable finance who served as the Parliamentary Secretary under former Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.

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