Jonathan Wilkinson: Latest News

Newfoundland and Labrador into a hydrogen-producing energy powerhouse.The first phase of the project involves building 164 new wind turbines in one of the windiest corners of the country. The idea is to use the renewable power generated from those wind turbines to produce what’s known as ‘green’ hydrogen, which can then be shipped to Germany to address that country’s growing energy security fears.

wildfire season this year, government officials are warning.Nine provinces and territories are battling blazes that have forced the evacuation of more than 100,000 people across the country since early May, officials said in an update Monday.New modelling released Monday shows that the risks of wildfires is set to increase this month and remain “unusually high” throughout the summer in Canada, Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said.“Every province and territory will need to be on high alert throughout this wildfire season,” he told reporters, saying that additional firefighting resources will be required moving forward.“While this is not yet Canada’s most severe fire season, if this trajectory continues, it very well could be.”Since the start of the year, 2,214 wildfires have already burned 3.3 million hectares of land – which is “10 times” the normal average for the season, Wilkinson said.As of June 4, more than 400 active fires were burning across the country, the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre reported.Ottawa is giving federal assistance to at least three provinces – Alberta, Nova Scotia and Quebec.The Canadian military as well as hundreds of international firefighters are on the ground giving a much-needed helping hand to local emergency teams.Despite the “very serious projections”, Canada is expected to have enough resources to cover the summer months, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.“If things get worse, we ..

Ukraine‘s energy and foreign ministers are condemning the decision by the Canadian government to allow Germany to return controversial turbines being serviced in Canada to Russia‘s Gazprom.In a statement published on the Ukrainian government’s energy ministry website Sunday afternoon, the ministers said they were “deeply disappointed” by Canada’s decision and urged the government to reverse it. In the statement, they added that returning the turbine would amount to adjusting the sanctions imposed on Moscow “to the whims of Russia.”Gazprom has blamed the turbines for its decision to halve the flow of gas to Germany, which is heavily dependent on Russian natural gas and recently declared an “alarm stage” over looming gas shortages.

A Scottish Government minister is isolating after testing positive for Covid-19 two days after speaking at COP26.

Justin Trudeau will overhaul his cabinet today as he gears up to rapidly deliver on a host of priorities for his third term as prime minister.He is expected to add a number of new faces from the Liberal backbench, shuffle the existing roster in some of the most senior portfolios and drop at least one minister altogether.Sources, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to talk publicly about today’s swearing-in ceremony, say Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau is expected to be dropped from cabinet as Trudeau makes room for fresh blood while maintaining gender parity and regional balance.Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson is expected to be moved to natural resources, with a new focus on clean tech.Heritage

Climate change is starting to spiral out of control, a UN panel warned Monday.The new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warns the whole world — and with it, Canada — is on track for devastating wildfires, smouldering heat waves and other extreme weather events to get even worse.“Canada is warming at nearly twice the global rate. Parts of western and northern Canada are warming at three times the global average,” said Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson in a statement reacting to the new report.

Trudeau government’s plan to ban single-use plastics by the end of 2021 is in motion, meaning restaurants who rely on takeout orders amid the coronavirus pandemic may have to change their delivery packaging.And the ban comes at a time when many restaurants rely on delivery and takeout orders to keep their businesses afloat amid coronavirus closures. Ottawa pushing ahead with plan to ban single-use plastics by end of 2021 On Oct.

carbon-pricing systems for big industrial emitters, rather than have a federal program imposed on them.The decisions come on the eve of a Supreme Court of Canada hearing that will decide if Ottawa has the jurisdiction to set a national standard for carbon pricing and impose federal programs on any provinces that don’t comply.

Jonathan Wilkinson is open to imposing tougher regulations to curb methane emissions from the oil and gas sector if that is required to hit a 2025 target to cut them by almost half, his staff said Friday.Canada set a goal in 2016 to cut methane emissions by 40 to 45 per cent in 2025 compared to what they were in 2012. A new report from the Pembina Institute and Environmental Defence says the regulations in place now for methane will only achieve a 29 per cent cut by 2025.“They’re not on track to meet the target,” said Jan Gorski, a senior analyst at the Pembina Institute.

COVID-19 pandemic.Federal Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson and B.C. Transportation Minister Claire Trevena announced B.C.

Parks Canada announced on Wednesday that camping will gradually resume at a number of national parks and historic sites across the country starting June 22 but will, initially, only be open to those with existing reservations.National parks, historic sites and marine conservation areas across the country closed in mid-March to help slow the spread of COVID-19. Many national parks were then reopened on June 1 as restrictions lifted, but camping facilities at those sites were still closed as Parks Canada worked out how to reinstate the services in a safe way.“We are all doing our part to flatten the curve and limit the spread of COVID-19,” Environment and Climate Change Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said.

OTTAWA — Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says plans to beef up Canada’s national climate action plan and ban some single-use plastics will likely be delayed because of COVID-19.

Canada is slowly beginning to emerge from its COVID-19 cocoon, with the federal government poised to announce a gradual reopening of national parks and heritage sites and more provinces taking the first halting steps toward a return to normal.

A surge in emissions from road traffic, manufacturing, home heating and fossil-fuel production in 2018 almost entirely erased any progress this country had made cutting greenhouse gas emissions since 2005, the federal government reported Wednesday.

OTTAWA — The federal government is quietly looking at longer-term recovery plans from the COVID-19 crisis even as its focus remains squarely on getting more than $100 billion in emergency economic aid out the door.

Parks Canada is restricting vehicles in national parks and national historic sites after people flocked to the popular areas on the weekend.