CCPA
FACING a record-breaking heat wave in early May, Manitoba has had a devastating start to its unofficial fifth season — fire season — as wildfires continue to ravage communities and smoke blankets much of the province. Climate change is no longer a distant problem for future generations — it is here now. Story here.
"Dear Premier Wab Kinew and Honourable Ministers, please download my new book,'The Merchants of Menace. How Puppets in Government and Some in Academe are Helping Corporate Hog Producers Have Their Way in Manitoba, Canada. A Tragedy.' This is a work of non-fiction. So please bring any inaccuracies to my attention and they will be corrected. If no substantive mistakes can be found, I expect a donation. Thank you for your interest."
Offshore natural gas is Newfoundland and Labrador’s latest pitch for development that it claims will be “part of the solution to the global path toward-net zero emissions” despite ample evidence that fossil fuels like oil and gas must be phased out to reach climate targets. Story here.
WWF’S LIVING PLANET REPORT
North American populations see a less dramatic but steep decline of 39 per cent. Story here.
Please also read my story from 2020:
The lynx vs. the bobcat. Two species of wild cat in Ontario, Canada, may face dramatically different futures. Is this "survival of the fittest?" Story here.
I'd like to congratulate David Cochrane (CBC TV's "Power & Politics") for pointing out the negative consequences that building more pipelines will have on our ability to fight climate change. I may have missed something, but he is the very first journalist I've noticed who has directly reminded politicians (held them to account during a scrum or news conference setting) of that "inconvenient" connection. Of course, then AB's Premier went on to try to counter his point with misleading responses of her own. "Oil sands (not a direct quote) produce fewer emissions per barrel." Apparently that's true. But given that skyrocketing production is, and has been for some time, ECLIPSING those reductions, IT MATTERS NOT in the overall scheme of things, does it? The end result is MORE EMISSIONS. Smith also pointed out that the majority of fires were STARTED by people! This, too ignores the inconvenient fact that the reason they rapidly flare up into Hellfires, is because manmade climate change has spawned severe drought and "kindling-like" conditions in the forests. Put another way, if c.c. were removed from the equation (i.e. it never happened), the harm caused by arsonists, mindless smokers, quadders and campers) would surely be infinitesimal, compared to now. I still long for the day when misleading statement like Smith's would ALSO be challenged and corrected by the media....maybe one day.
CANADA'S NATIONAL OBSERVER
BC's most recent five-year wolf cull is set to expire with no indication the province has plans to end the controversial measure that doesn't support the long-term recovery of caribou, say critics.
Please also read my article from some years ago.
Until authorities recognize the science - that human behaviour here on Earth is behind these worsening conditions, we are only aggravating problems for present and future generations - our kids & grandkids. WAKE UP, SHEEPLE! A proud but disappointed Manitoban.
Exciting news! I've just discovered a chapter which I failed to include in my new book, "The Merchants of Menace," recently published online. I'm posting it below as a complementary addition. ENJOY! L.P.
PHOSPHORUS: A STUDY IN CONTRASTS.
One of the lakes at the Experimental Lakes Area in Ontario, separated with a heavy "sea-curtain." Carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus were added to the bottom part, but only carbon and nitrogen to the top. The murky colour at the bottom indicates dense algal blooms, dramatically portraying the role of phosphorus in eutrophication. An International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) image.
Groundbreaking research directed by the late, internationally-renowned water expert, David Schindler in 1969 - depicted in the famous image above - clearly showed the world that phosphates were the main culprits in the eutrophication process, settling an ongoing dispute over their role in laundry detergents. To drive his point home, Schindler wrote in findings of the Royal Society in 2012;
The only method that has had proven success in reducing the eutrophication of lakes is reducing input of phosphorus. The Canadian Government responded quickly, banning high-phosphate laundry detergents and requiring that phosphorus be removed by sewage treatment plants in the Great Lakes Basin in 1973. The result was one of the biggest success stories in environmental science and policy.
Lakes Erie and Ontario, and many other lakes where phosphorus inputs were controlled, began to recover within a few years. It was exciting to do science that had such an immediate and important impact on ecosystem protection. Phosphorus control policies were enacted in many countries. Many jurisdictions from North America to Europe imposed at least partial bans, too.
Yet, almost as if phosphorus in laundry detergents was especially damaging, while the same in pig manure was somehow benign - significant action was taken to address the former - nothing for the latter. Not unlike the pork sector and its enablers, the lucrative detergents industry had indignantly tried to place the blame elsewhere, insisting that the problem lay, not with phosphates at all, but with carbon, or perhaps nitrogen!
Meanwhile, the hog lobby remains quick to point the finger of “eutrophication blame” almost exclusively at human waste rather than its own, copious by-product. In 2011, when a de facto ban on new barn construction was still in effect, the Chair of the Manitoba Pork Council, Karl Kynoch, scolded politicians at a legislative committee hearing;
One of the most infuriating things about this total ban on new hog production is the unfairness of it all. You have not treated any other group in Manitoba with the same mean-spirited tactics. For example, while the city of Winnipeg contributes several times more nutrients to the lake than the hog industry, including numerous major spills of raw sewage every year directly into the rivers, you haven't banned all new buildings in the city the way that you have the hog sector.
And, as is sometimes the case with such sweeping statements - there’s an element of truth in it. Records show the City of Winnipeg has probably released raw, untreated sewage into the Red and Assiniboine Rivers hundreds of times since at least 2004. In April of 2022 for example, it was forced by prolonged rainfall, to release almost sixty million litres (59.5ML) into the Red River (which flows into Lake Winnipeg) from one of its wastewater treatment plants. To have done otherwise, says the city, would have posed “a serious risk of basement flooding upstream.”
Sadly, while such incidents have become all-too-common, Kynoch’s allegation that they represent “several times the nutrients going into the lake” than that of his own industry (which, we he would have us believe, are either infinitesimal or non-existent), must surely be relegated to the category of blatant corporate overstatement.
Keep in mind, sewage releases like the ones just described are “forced” events - considered unavoidable if serious property damage is to be avoided. Slurry-spreading, on the other hand - and its inevitable spreading into the wider environment - is “baked into” formal government policy. And, while manure could be effectively processed in digesters, or composted, none of the former and only insignificant amounts of the latter are happening in Manitoba.
At this writing at least, agreement has been reached which will see three levels of government spend more than half-a-billion dollars ($550m) to upgrade Winnipeg’s north end sewage treatment plant, the city’s oldest and largest. According to the plan;
The sludge it produces will be treated and converted into a nutrient-rich product that can be safely re-used as fertilizer or soil - diverting it from landfills - removing phosphorus and ultimately improving the health of Lake Winnipeg, one of Manitoba’s greatest treasures.
While improvements such as these have been slow in coming (sometimes delayed by funding or jurisdictional disputes), they’re surely indicators, finally, of change in the wind. Meanwhile, don’t forget the pork industry, government and even some segments of academia have still not budged from their obstinate position that “all is well.” In other words, they continue to defy both the “common sense” and “scientific” arguments I presented earlier in this book, clinging instead to the following;
• “The fact is, there never was any credible scientific evidence showing that any measurable amounts of pig manure get intowaterways in the first place.” Manitoba Pork
“There’s no compelling evidence that any of these changes (building more barns) will put water at risk.” Premier Brian Pallister, 2017.
“If all the hogs in Manitoba disappeared, the amount of phosphorus flowing into the lake would essentially be the same.” Prof. Don Flaten, U of M.
Ironically, neither have they hesitated to refer to the ban on the winter spreading of slurry on farm fields as evidence that hogs were contributing only insignificant amounts of phosphorus to waterways. Please read on. You’ll see what I mean.
My full book may be accessed here.
Why does Alberta yearn for the coal mines?
Canada's National Observer
This is how corporate bullies get their way. Alberta’s energy regulator last week approved coal exploration plans by Australian-based Northback Holdings on Grassy Mountain in the Crowsnest Pass region. The approval came after a consortium of powerful coal mining companies sued the Alberta government for more than $15 billion over losses they claim were incurred when the province imposed a mining moratorium in the area. Northback is not part of the joint lawsuit, but it too filed a claim against the Alberta government that will be heard separately. Story here.
Alberta Farm Express
Initiatives in Alberta, Saskatchewan recognize some of the country’s most extensive and unique remaining prairie ecosystems. Story here.
CBC News
The Chief of the Pimicikimak Cree Nation, 500 k north of Winnipieg, David Monias, says some were left stranded for hours thanks to a beurocratic evacuation system. Story here.
CBC News
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| The structure of a "bottom trawl." Image by Anilocra |
Impacts of bottom trawling, industrial fishing in new documentary. Story here.
WORLD WEATHER ATTRIBUTION
Central Canada wildfires
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| Wildfires in Manitoba, 2021. GOES imagery: CSU/CIRA & NOAA |
Dr Friederike Otto, Senior Lecturer in Climate Science at Imperial College London, said:
“The deadly blazes in the central provinces mark a concerning start to the Canada wildfires season.
“They come after weeks of relentless heat with temperatures well above the long-term average – a clear indicator of climate change.
“If countries continue to rely on fossil fuels, the climate will keep warming, and we'll see more and more extreme heat making forests more prone to wildfires in dry years and seasons.”
Dr Clair Barnes, World Weather Attribution Researcher at the Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London, said:
“There is lots of evidence linking increasing temperatures with increased wildfire risk around the world.
“More intense heat means there is a heightened risk of wildfires starting and spreading – particularly after periods of low rainfall – because higher temperatures cause more moisture to evaporate, leaving leaf litter and other fuel very dry and flammable.
“We know that Canada is getting warmer as a result of climate change, so it’s very likely that climate change is contributing to the current fire-prone conditions.”
Theo Keeping, Wildfire Researcher at the Leverhulme Centre for Wildfires, Imperial College London, said:
“Dry winters followed by hot springs create a worst-case scenario for wildfires in Canada.
“Parts of Manitoba have recorded less than half the rainfall that would be expected by this time of year and May temperatures have been more than 10°C above average.
“It's too soon to say if the central provinces could experience a record-breaking season. However, ongoing hot and dry weather is expected, which will increase wildfire risk.”
Background
Since May 11, 2025, large wildfires have been burning across several Canadian provinces, including British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario.
At least 1,000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes and so far, two fatalities have been reported in Manitoba. Emergency services are working around the clock to contain the fires and support affected communities. At the time of writing, approximately 9 million people across Canada and neighboring U.S. states are under fire warnings.
The fires were fueled by strong winds and unseasonably high temperatures. Between May 11 and 13, Winnipeg saw three consecutive days with temperatures above 30°C, reaching a maximum of 36.4°C - well above the average May temperature of about 19°C. (CHNV & CBC, 2025). Large regions of southern and central Manitoba also saw temperatures above 30°C and Environment Canada issued a heat warning to alert those vulnerable to high temperatures (Winnipeg Sun, 2025).
The fires follow an unusually dry spring across much of Western and Central Canada, with several regions experiencing abnormally dry up to extreme drought conditions (Canadian Drought Monitor, 2025).
Officials at both the provincial and federal levels are coordinating firefighting efforts and disaster response measures, while environmental experts warn that the situation may worsen and Western Canada could experience a devastating fire season which usually runs from May to September (CNN, 2025). Intense fire-prone weather conditions are expected over the next week.
In contrast to Canada’s record-breaking wildfire season in 2023, when fire-weather conditions across the country reached unprecedented levels, the current 2025 fire season presents a different kind of threat. In 2023, vast areas of forest were burned during that season as nearly all components of the Canadian Fire Weather Index—except for the Initial Spread Index, which ranked third since 1950—set record highs when averaged across the country.
By contrast, while the 2025 wildfires are affecting densely forested areas in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario, many fires also occurred in prairies agricultural zones.These fires are at greater risk of affecting transitional landscapes known as the wildland-urban interface (WUI) — where human development meets wildland vegetation. The WUI is particularly vulnerable to wildfire, as people and property are most exposed to flammable natural fuels in these areas. This shift in geography and fire behavior may help explain why, despite fewer fires burning in forested regions, the 2025 season has already resulted in two fatalities—both in Manitoba—whereas no deaths were recorded during the 2023 season.
Attribution analysis of 2023 Canada wildfires
Wildfires are complex natural phenomena influenced not only by climate but also by vegetation, land cover, and human activities. As a result, isolating and quantifying the specific contribution of climate change to observed wildfire outcomes—such as burned area or the number of fire events—is challenging. For this reason, many scientific studies focus instead on the weather conditions that are conducive to wildfires, rather than the fires themselves.
In this context, the World Weather Attribution (WWA) team conducted an attribution study of the 2023 wildfires in Quebec, using the Canadian Fire Weather Index fire danger rating system. To capture both the intensity and the duration of extreme fire weather conditions across the region, the study focused specifically on the Cumulative Daily Severity Rating (DSR). This index reflects how difficult it is to suppress fires, and is appropriate for averaging over multiple days and relatively homogenous areas. Higher values indicating more severe fire weather and a greater likelihood of sustained, intense fire activity.
By integrating multiple lines of evidence—including syntheses of past climate data, historical and future model projections, and established physical understanding—the WWA study concluded that the cumulative DSRexperienced between January and July 2023 in Quebec was at least seven times more likely to occur due to human-induced climate change. Furthermore, the severity of this index was approximately 50% higher than it would have been in a pre-industrial climate. These quantitative findings are specific to the Quebec study region and the extreme fire weather event observed in May–June 2023. Of the hot, dry and windy weather conditions that factor into the DSR, the study found that warm spring temperatures were a key driver.
The influence of climate change on the Western Canada wildfires
The DSR was developed to assess fire risk in forested areas, and thus may be less suitable for agricultural landscapes. Nevertheless, as shown in Figure 1, cumulative DSR values have been increasing across Canada, albeit with regional variations in the magnitude of trends.
Importantly however, the 2023 study identified rising temperatures as the primary driver behind increasing fire-weather risk—a conclusion that can be extended to 2025 . While the specific characteristics of this year's fire season differ, the underlying influence of climate change remains. We can state that anthropogenic climate change has increased the likelihood and severity of high fire-weather conditions in Canada.
Figure 1: Map of relative change in intensity in annual accumulated DSR associated with 1.3°C of global warming (ERA5, using data from 1950-2023). Black dots mark active fires in May 2025, identified with high confidence (>80%) in the MCD14DL MODIS Active Fire and Thermal Anomalies product.
New
Scientist
After record temperatures in 2024, climate scientists had expected this year to be cooler, but instead the planet seems to be heading for a second year above the 1.5°C climate goal. Details here.
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism
Campaigners call for more sustainable system after revelations that huge farms near the Wye and Severn got £14m in subsidies. Story here.
University of Manitoba
A groundbreaking study warns that the Arctic is undergoing rapid and dramatic changes due to accelerating global temperatures, with potentially irreversible consequences by the end of the century. Story here.
Extreme heat events caused by climate change jeopardize children’s health and learning 40+ organizations issue urgent call to action marking Healthy Environments for Learning Day: 24 April. Story here.
WINNIPEG—Scientists in Canada have discovered, for the first time, that dogs can sniff out certain types of oil spilled under ice in freshwater lakes, with a 100% success rate. Story here.
International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)
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| A PinP photo. |
With the current drop in the price of oil, now is an ideal moment to scale back subsidies with minimal disruption to households and industries. Story here.
The Guardian
Greenpeace lost – not because it did something wrong but because it was denied a fair trial. Details here.
The Guardian
Environmentalists call bid to skirt UN treaty ‘reckless’ amid fears that mining will cause irreversible loss of biodiversity. Story here.
Canada's National Observer
It was Oscar Wilde who once opined that, “A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything, but the value of nothing.”
Sadly, this appears to be the case with a man who seeks to be Canada’s next prime minister. The quote is particularly apropos when it comes to his promise to “defund the CBC.”
When pondering the loss of CBC, I think about the stories that won’t be told, the little and big, the national and the local. I think about the musicians never being heard, the songs not sung, the writers not read and the artists of all kinds not seen. In Canada, CBC offers talented Canadians a stage, often a starting point and audience.
The threat from Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre is just one of a collection of three-word slogans, but there’s a lot more to it than meets the eye. Like most three-word slogans, it sounds simple enough: no more money for the CBC.
But Poilievre claims defunding would just be on English services, demonstrating a profound lack of understanding of how the CBC works. The English and French arms of the organization work in the same buildings, and share the same infrastructure, human and physical resources.
He claims his plan would save a billion dollars, but 40 per cent of the billion dollars provided in the government appropriation to the broadcasting corporation supports French services. And that doesn’t fully include various shared resources. So, where are the billion bucks coming from?
The Conservative Party claims to be fiscally conservative. While that point can be argued, one might concede the party pays attention to both sides of the balance sheet: spending and benefits.
That’s definitely not the case here, which makes one conclude the attack on the CBC is not about fiscal responsibility.
According to a study conducted by Deloitte, every dollar taxpayers invest in the CBC offers better than a 2-to-1 return. CBC/Radio-Canada is the country’s most important cultural institution, and the largest commissioner of original Canadian content. It drives Canada’s creative sector. It anchors a cultural community that contributes billions of dollars to the economy and creates tens of thousands of jobs. Surely, to those who consider themselves fiscally responsible, those numbers should mean something.
Consider, too, the impact of about 5,000 tax-paying citizens losing their jobs, and how that will affect their families and communities.
Money is not the only thing that matters. When you take away funding from the CBC, what else do you lose?
For millions of Canadians who live in smaller centres and rural communities, it is essential to have a national public broadcaster because the CBC is their only source of local news and information. The CBC also provides services to Canadians living in remote northern areas. Who else will broadcast in eight Indigenous languages? CTV? Global?
It’s easy for a politician who lives in a city like Ottawa to think that what they see on the private networks or get from Fox and Friends is what everybody wants. This demonstrates a profound ignorance of Canadian culture and geography.
Private broadcasters are in the business of making money. That’s why CTV and Global carry U.S. sitcoms in prime time, and why serving all Canadians is not their priority. What are the chances the CRTC, Canada’s broadcast regulator, will mandate that private broadcasters open stations in Yellowknife and Iqaluit?
Poilievre claims to be a populist, but he’s missing that mark with the public broadcaster, too. A recent survey by the Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy found that while they would like to see changes to the CBC, 78 per cent of Canadians want to preserve it.
Ultimately, the shibboleth to “defund the CBC” is about ideology. It’s being proposed by a party leader who, by his own admission, doesn’t watch or listen to the CBC, yet deems it to be too left-leaning. One hopes that Canada will not turn into a nation that allows its politicians to decide what everyone sees, hears or reads.
Perhaps it’s a reflection of the time we live in, that slogans are catchy and appealing. But when you plan to gut a 90-year-old Canadian cultural institution, it might be worth asking, “At what cost?”
Dan Oldfield is president of the CBC Pensioners National Association, a not-for-profit organization representing 6,000 CBC retirees across Canada.
CCPA FACING a record-breaking heat wave in early May, Manitoba has had a devastating start to its unofficial fifth season — fire season — ...
