Canada

Fossil fuel pollution is overheating Canadian forests, spawning an out-of-control wildfire crisis. Wildfire is now incinerating four times more forest carbon than during the 1990s. In addition to the surging immediate threats of choking smoke, wanton destruction and disrupted lives, rising wildfire is also pumping billions of tonnes of forest carbon into our atmosphere, intensifying long-term climate breakdown.

This accelerating new source of CO2 is adding to the already massive and growing emissions of CO2 caused by humans burning fossil oil, gas and coal. CO2 is a powerful and extremely long-lived greenhouse gas. It is piling up in an ever-thickening blanket in our atmosphere that will overheat generations to come. The extra heat being trapped by humanity’s CO2 now equals the explosions of 400,000 Hiroshima atomic bombs every day. And rising.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/35364580

We've lost another great Canadian Actor. R.I.P. Graham.

The chart from this article just posting it as the main link since it by far the best representation of the data I've seen.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/most-retaliatory-tariffs-removed-1.7620036

https://archive.is/www.thestar.com/news/canada/alberta/margaret-atwood-takes-aim-at-albertas-school-library-books-ban-with-satirical-story/article_cce67d24-94bb-5300-bed7-cf243ed34173.html

The CFIA can impose fines of up to $15,000 per offence. No fines or other penalties were issued in the cases, including one that took four months to fully resolve.

The federal food regulator said it "took action" in each case and that, in all of them, the grocers fixed the problem.

Alberta recently directed schools to purge library books from shelves that fit its definition of “explicit sexual content” by 1 October. If the policy is applied precisely as outlined, a host of books face being purged, including George Orwell’s 1984 due to passages in the text that discuss sexual intercourse and rape.

Academics and researchers who examine censorship say the policy specifically targets books that affirm LGBTQ+ identities – which they say is the goal of rightwing parents’ groups.

Turk says he and his colleagues are following more than 25 socially conservative groups across Canada that have similar mandates.

Many of these groups emerged as anti-vax groups during the Covid-19 pandemic, and then used social media to widen their scope of causes, including strict parental oversight.

“It’s a major initiative right now that grows out of this notion that ‘our kids are our property’,” he said. “It’s a very backward-looking, reactionary way of understanding how children learn.”

Lobbying by some parents’ groups has also prompted Alberta to institute “opt-in” sex education in fall 2024, instead of “opt-out”, which means parents must now actively sign their children up for those classes.

In June, following advocating from the Alberta Parents’ Union, Alberta also introduced new rules that require all presentations focussing on gender identity and sexuality to be vetted by the provincial government.

A Burlington homeowner is fighting charges over her “naturalized garden” of native plants in her front and back yards. The city is taking Karen Barnes to Provincial Offences Court, seeking up to $400,000 in fines for violating a bylaw order to cut it down.

Barnes is challenging the case on constitutional grounds, arguing her right to freedom of expression through gardening is protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

She says her garden supports pollinators, biodiversity and wildlife, reflecting her environmental and spiritual beliefs. She appeared for a pre-trial hearing on Wednesday and is scheduled for a two-day trial in November, according to her lawyer, Vilko Zbogar.

Zbogar says the case is about more than the fine. “Courts have recognized since at least 1996 that freedom of expression under the Charter protects natural gardens as expressions of profound environmental values,” he said. “For Karen, it’s also a spiritual exercise — tied to her creed and beliefs. This falls under Sections 2(a) and 2(b) of the Charter: freedom of conscience and religion and freedom of expression.”

Experts say naturalized gardens and meadows can attract far more pollinators than regularly mown lawns, while also using less water and improving soil health.

“The transport was so good,” said streetcar enthusiast Jay Miller. “I learned from the people I talked to about how very different the city used to be.”

Local entrepreneurs Thomas Ahearn and Warren Soper started the Ottawa Electric Railway Company in 1891, which was later purchased by the city. At its peak, the streetcar lines covered over 90 kilometres.

Not only did Ottawa have a robust streetcar network, but the capital became known for manufacturing them.

“Ottawa built streetcars for Vancouver, the prairie provinces, and some were even built for Toronto,” Dong said. “But now people don’t even know that history.”