Sustainability

A federal judge on Monday ordered the Dakota Access pipeline shut down pending a more thorough environmental review, handing a victory to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe three years after the pipeline first began carrying oil following months of protests.

Just when Ontarians were getting used to the low price of gasoline (82.9 cents in Barry’s Bay to 100.7 cents in Oakville on June 30), a U.S.

Mid-sized Canadian businesses that are strapped for cash because of COVID-19 can now apply through their own banks to get loans of up to $60 million from the federal government.

Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson is scaling back the government's planned Clean Fuel Standard in the short term to give the fossil fuel industry a bit more time to recover from the pandemic-induced economic collapse.

Fuel prices will be tracked in four additional communities in B.C.

Trans Mountain says oil is flowing again through its pipeline after as much 190,000 litres of light crude spilled from a pumping facility in Abbotsford, B.C.A statement from the Crown-owned company says the pipeline was restarted Sunday afternoon.The line was shut down early Saturday when an alarm was triggered at the Sumas pump station.An investigation continues but Trans Mountain linked the cause to a fitting on a 2.5-centimetre pipe, and says the oil was contained, recovered and slated for disposal.A statement posted late Sunday by the Environment Ministry says Trans Mountain's is co-ordinating the response at the site, along with environmental and emergency contractors.The ministry says there has been no reported impact to groundwater, but monitoring continues.Sumas First Nation Chief Dalton Silver said Saturday's spill marked the fourth time in 15 years that the pipeline has spilled oil on their land.He said in a statement that it happened just south of a cultural and burial ground of great significance to his people.“Our main concern is for the cleanup of this spill and preventing further impacts to our territory.

Even in these times, barely a day goes by where there’s not a dire warning about the environmental predicament the planet faces.

The Canadian government is moving ahead with new rules it says will speed up approvals for exploratory oil and gas drilling off the east coast of Newfoundland, but conservation groups are warning the changes undermine environmental protections.Natural Resources Minister Seamus O'Regan issued a statement last week saying the new regulation will improve the efficiency of assessments while upholding the “highest standards'' of environmental protection.“Our government recognizes that Newfoundland and Labrador's ability to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic will depend largely on a strong, resilient and innovative offshore,'' O'Regan said.Three environmental groups have launched a federal court challenge, arguing exploratory drilling off Newfoundland will now be green-lit without proper environmental assessments.The Ecology Action Centre, Sierra Club Canada Foundation and World Wildlife Fund Canada argued earlier this month that the science behind the new “regional assessment'' or RA process is flawed.Lawyer James Gunvaldsen-Klaassen, whose firm Ecojustice is representing the groups, argued that the regulation “flies in the face'' of the purpose of environmental scrutiny under the new Impact Assessment Act.The court later decided the case can proceed to a judicial review, but denied the group's request for an injunction.“The federal government stated that it intended to use the flawed RA and a loophole in the ...