Ottawa removes regulatory red tape for Trans Mountain pipeline

Ottawa removes regulatory red tape for Trans Mountain pipeline

Ahead of Canada’s plan to move the Trans Mountain pipeline to Indigenous ownership, the federal government is changing how it manages the pipeline, according to a notice published Wednesday on the federal government’s official newspaper, Canada Gazette. The Canada Development Investment Corporation and Trans Mountain Corporation will no longer need authorization from a top official, the governor … Read more

B.C. orca calf’s extended family spotted near Vancouver Island

B.C. orca calf’s extended family spotted near Vancouver Island

Members of a killer whale pod related to an orphan orca calf that escaped a remote British Columbia tidal lagoon last month have been spotted off the northeast coast of Vancouver Island. Marine scientist Jared Towers says in a social media post he was surprised to see members of the calf’s great-grandmother’s pod swimming in … Read more

New $25M facility allows Canada’s ocean scientists, military to share research

New M facility allows Canada’s ocean scientists, military to share research

A new $25-million marine research centre opened Monday in Dartmouth, N.S., to co-ordinate the sophisticated underwater platforms used by Canada to gather ocean data. The Facility for Intelligent Marine Systems brings together researchers from Fisheries and Oceans, Natural Resources Canada and Defence Research and Development Canada into one place. “These researchers will be leading the way … Read more

Waters off Scotian Shelf are cooling, but scientists can’t say for how long

Waters off Scotian Shelf are cooling, but scientists can’t say for how long

The latest survey of Atlantic Ocean conditions off Nova Scotia show after a decade of warming, temperatures on the Scotian Shelf are cooling. The slight climate reversal has scientists asking if this is the beginning of a return to previous norms — or a blip. “What remains unknown is whether this is a longer term trend … Read more

Trans Mountain pipeline ushers in new economic era for Fort McMurray

Trans Mountain pipeline ushers in new economic era for Fort McMurray

As the urban centre at the heart of Canada’s oilsands industry, Fort McMurray has seen more than its share of ups and downs. A decade and a half ago, the northern Alberta community was this country’s most famous boom town. High oil prices helped to drive unprecedented demand for the thick, viscous bitumen that lies … Read more

UBC prof Suzanne Simard named in Time’s ‘most influential’ list

UBC prof Suzanne Simard named in Time’s ‘most influential’ list

When Suzanne Simard heard she was going to be named one of the 100 “most influential people” in the world on Wednesday, she had a hard time believing it at first. The Finding the Mother Tree author, who was included in Time magazine’s annual list alongside a handful of fellow Canadians, said she wondered whether her … Read more

How cloud seeding can make it rain or prevent extreme weather

How cloud seeding can make it rain or prevent extreme weather

Cloud seeding has been named by some media reports as a possible contributor to record-setting rain and flooding in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Here’s a closer look at what cloud seeding is, how it’s used and whether it could have made the flooding worse. What is cloud seeding? It’s the process of making tiny drops … Read more

How the creators of HBO’s The Sympathizer turned the bestselling novel into a dark, comic romp for TV

How the creators of HBO’s The Sympathizer turned the bestselling novel into a dark, comic romp for TV

On the surface, Viet Thanh Nguyen’s The Sympathizer is the perfect target for adaptation. First off, it’s a novel — one of the more lucrative source materials for an industry perpetually hungry for existing IP and a built-in audience.  Second, it’s a Pulitzer Prize winner, a badge of honour that already proved a boon for similar adaptees like Spotlight, Driving Miss … Read more

May startup of Trans Mountain pipeline expansion surprises analysts

May startup of Trans Mountain pipeline expansion surprises analysts

Trans Mountain’s announcement that its expanded oil pipeline would start commercial operations on May 1 has surprised analysts with an earlier-than-expected commencement on the long-delayed $34 billion project. The federal government-owned company set the date late on Wednesday, having previously said startup would happen in the second quarter. Canada is the fourth-largest oil producer but output has been … Read more

Major earthquake strikes off of Taiwan’s coast, killing at least 9 and injuring hundreds

Major earthquake strikes off of Taiwan’s coast, killing at least 9 and injuring hundreds

The strongest earthquake in a quarter-century rocked Taiwan during the morning rush hour Wednesday, killing nine people, stranding dozens of workers at quarries and sending some residents scrambling out the windows of damaged buildings. The quake, which also injured more than 1,000, was centered off the coast of rural, mountainous Hualien County, where some buildings … Read more