Media Releases

Court of Appeal Confirms Ontario’s Inadequate Climate Target is Harming Ontarians and Must Comply with Charter Standards.   The Ontario government lost its bid to ignore the climate crisis as the Ontario Court of Appeal overruled a lower court decision to dismiss the case of seven Ontario youths who claim the province has a duty to protect them from climate change. “Alberta Beyond Fossil Fuels is proud to be participating in this historical case,” said a spokesperson CEO. The Ontario Court of Appeal released its much-anticipated decision in the youth-led climate case, Mathur v Ontario. Seven young Ontarians appealed the lower

This article is adapted from a press release originally issued by Ecojustice titled: “Groups request human rights investigation into heavy truck routing in downtown Ottawa“ Groups call on Ontario Human Rights Commission to investigate health impacts posed by route OTTAWA/TRADITIONAL, UNCEDED TERRITORY OF THE ALGONQUIN ANISHNAABEG PEOPLE — Health, community, and environmental groups are calling on the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) to investigate the City of Ottawa’s ongoing practice of routing heavy trucks through the City’s densely populated downtown core. The move is part of ongoing efforts to address the urgent health threat posed by heavy truck emissions along the

(Ottawa) — Environmental groups are expressing their frustration with the federal government’s plan to scale-back a proposed ambitious pesticide water monitoring program. Earlier this year, the federal government released a proposed water monitoring framework. Environmental groups say the originally proposed program was to be robust, including citizen monitoring and participation to help Canadians understand how pesticides are contaminating waterways and drinking water sources. This version of the program was presented to the Scientific Advisory Committee at Health Canada last June.  However, after funding was reduced, the federal government has now walked back its ambition. The proposed framework does not include details

Media release from our international network: Kicking out polluters key to progress at negotiations for a first-ever global Plastics Treaty  Tuesday 23 April 2024, Ottawa (Canada) – As delegates gather this week to make headway on what many hope will be an ambitious legally-binding plastics treaty, civil society groups including Alberta Beyond Fossil Fuels are pushing States to ensure the Treaty covers the full life cycle of plastics, from production to waste, and ends the ongoing plastics waste trade and cuts corporate influence out of the equation.(1) Alongside heads of State and civil society groups, corporate players from the fossil fuel, petrochemical

  When will Canada act?   February 12, 2024 (Ottawa) Dental amalgam (inaccurately called “silver fillings”) is approximately 50% mercury — a neurotoxin and reproductive toxin. The European Union has already banned the use of amalgam in children, pregnant women, and nursing mothers in a regulation that went into effect in 2018. The 2018 measure was not enough to protect the environment and human health, as the European Commission explained in its 2023 proposal to ban amalgam: “Dental amalgam is the largest remaining intentional use of mercury in the Union estimated at around 40 tonnes in 2019. Considering the availability of

The sudden cancellation last week of the first small nuclear reactor project in the United States, the NuScale project, calls into question the economic viability of Canada’s plans to develop and deploy small modular reactors. Potential customers in Utah balked at the soaring projections for the cost of electricity the NuScale reactor would generate, and the project was unable to recruit other customers to buy its power. Today, in response, civil society groups across Canada are demanding transparency and accountability for the costs of other small nuclear reactor designs planned in this country. “Canada should stop writing blank cheques to nuclear promoters who cannot deliver on their promises of

Environmental groups call for a ban on releasing GMOs into the wild Halifax, Ottawa, Sutton, November 8, 2023 – Today, the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA) released an Expert Panel report commissioned by the Pesticide Management Regulatory Agency of Health Canada on the regulation of genetically engineering (genetically modified or GM) insects for pest control. The report focuses on the question of releasing gene-edited insects and “gene drive” organisms in particular, designed for release into the environment with the purpose of replacing or changing whole insect populations in the wild. The Expert Panel concludes that the complexity and uncertainties of using

Toronto, Ont./ Traditional territories of several First Nations including the Williams Treaties First Nations, Huron-Wendat, the Anishnaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Chippewas, and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation — Twelve Indigenous, environmental, health, and civil society groups have been granted intervenor status in the appeal of a historic youth-led Charter case on climate change. Sophia, Zoe, Shaelyn, Alex, Shelby, Madi, and Beze, backed by lawyers from Ecojustice and Stockwoods LLP, are leading a legal challenge of the Ontario government’s decision in 2018 to significantly weaken the province’s 2030 climate target, enabling dangerous levels of greenhouse gas emissions over the next decade. The seven

For Immediate Release Environmental and food safety groups, scientists and filmmakers call for immediate ban of glyphosate   October 26, 2023 (Ottawa)  A major study on glyphosate, the world’s most used herbicide, found in food, water and humans, has been linked to early leukaemia deaths. This finding comes as environmental and food safety groups take Canada’s pesticide regulator to court to challenge the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA)’s decisions on glyphosate product renewals, and at a time of accusations of regulatory capture of  the regulator. The Global Glyphosate Study, the most comprehensive toxicological study ever on glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides, Roundup

Maya’s Eco-Mission: 11-Year-Old Star Takes on School Lunch Waste! Ottawa, October 2, 2023 – our 11-year old Plastics Campaigner, Maya, is calling on students, parents, and teachers to join her in getting rid of single-use plastics in school lunches. Canadian families could save more than $527 million over the school year by rejecting single use plastic packaging and making use of reusable containers. Maya’s “How I spent my summer vacation essay” is a meticulous study comparing the costs for preparing lunches with and without single-use plastic packaging over the school year. She calculated that one family with two

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  Doctors and environmental groups urge federal government to act on truck pollution  OTTAWA/TRADITIONAL, UNCEDED TERRITORY OF THE ALGONQUIN ANISHNAABEG PEOPLE – Smoke from wildfires is not the only source of air pollution threatening the health of Canadians. According to Health Canada, diesel emissions in major cities and along transportation corridors are a major health threat to Canadians. Doctors and environment groups are calling for federal action on truck pollution, saying the government could save thousands of lives by closing federal loopholes for highly polluting heavy trucks.  Canadian Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) and climate change,

Toronto, Ont./ Traditional territories of several First Nations including the Williams Treaties First Nations, Huron-Wendat, the Anishnaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Chippewas, and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation – Environmental groups welcome today’s announcement from the federal government stating its intention to end the cosmetic use of pesticides on federal lands and strengthen regulation of pesticides. The David Suzuki Foundation, Environmental Defence, Wilderness Committee, Ecojustice, Alberta Beyond Fossil Fuels and Prevent Cancer Now say the changes announced today are a positive first step towards more robust regulation of pesticides. However, the groups caution that legal changes, if adopted, will need to be properly implemented and

For Immediate Release (05/01/23) (OTTAWA | Traditional, unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg People) — New Brunswick MP, Jenica Atwin, and prominent documentary filmmaker, Jennifer Baichwal are calling on Parliament to ban the use of glyphosate, Canada’s most widely-used weed killer.  Atwin is presenting a petition – signed by more than 18,000 Canadians and backed by numerous environmental organizations – to her parliamentary colleagues today. “There is an alarming and growing body of independent scientific research proving glyphosate’s harm to humans and all other life that Canada’s regulator, the Pest Management Regulatory Agency, is ignoring,” says Baichwal, whose recent CBC documentary,

For Immediate Release – April 18, 2023   Intervenor Alberta Beyond Fossil Fuels finds important gains despite dismissal   (Ottawa) Canada’s courts are a step closer to legally recognizing governments’ duty to protect Canadians from climate change. The Ontario Superior Court released a historic judgment in Mathur v Ontario – the youth climate lawsuit where seven young Ontarians challenged the province’s unscientific and unsustainable climate policy as unconstitutional. In its reasons, the Court found that “…it is indisputable that, as a result of climate change, the Applicants and Ontarians in general are experiencing an increased risk of death and an increased

A little girl launches a big campaign to get rid of those little stickers on fruit and vegetables  (Ottawa) Ten year old Maya Thiru who lives in the GTA  has turned a visit to the grocery store with her Mom into a climate change environmental campaign. Maya’s Climate Campaign hopes to mobilize kids and parents and teachers across Canada in the struggle to rid the planet of climate change. She is supporting our call to Environment and climate change Minister Stephen Guilbeault to expand the single use plastic ban to include stickers on fruits

Vancouver — More than 60 environmental and health organizations and businesses across Canada are calling on the federal government to Expand the Single-Use Plastics Ban by adding six new categories: All takeout containers, cups and lids Bags, film and wrap Bottles and caps Filtered cigarettes Produce stickers Sachets, pouches and wrappers These six new categories encompass a wide range of plastic products and packaging that dominate coastal beach cleanups, pose risks to wildlife and human health, and are problematic for waste management. On the heels of the first phase of the ban coming into effect last month, environmental and health organizations are sounding the alarm that

Toronto, Ont./ Traditional territories of several First Nations including the Williams Treaties First Nations, Huron-Wendat, the Anishnaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Chippewas, and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation – Environmental and food groups are challenging Health Canada’s failure to conduct a rigorous scientific assessment of glyphosate before renewing the approval for a product containing it. Ecojustice, on behalf of the David Suzuki Foundation, Environmental Defence Canada, Alberta Beyond Fossil Fuels and Safe Food Matters, filed the judicial review application in Federal Court. The groups argue that Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) has a duty to only renew registrations for

Dear Mayor Sutcliffe, On behalf of Alberta Beyond Fossil Fuels and the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (Ontario Committee), we write to draw your attention to an urgent public health hazard in downtown Ottawa – heavy truck pollution. To summarize, the City of Ottawa’s choice to route heavy trucks through its high-density downtown core is putting lives and livelihoods at risk. Fortunately, multiple solutions exist to solve the problem. With a new Mayor and Council, newly approved Official Plan, and new Transportation Master Plan under development, now is the time for the City to take effective action to