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The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) supports Ontario's draft Pollinator Health Action Plan, particularly its focus on protecting pollinators from stressors like pesticide exposure and habitat loss. CAPE emphasizes the link between pollinator health and human food security, citing research that a total loss of animal pollinators could increase annual human deaths from nutrition-related diseases by 1.42 million. While welcoming the plan's strategic outcomes, CAPE recommends adding specific targets, budgets, and timelines, creating an independent scientific advisory body, providing farmer incentives for pollinator-friendly practices, and conducting a cumulative assessment of pesticide exposures in Ontario.

The document critiques the PMRA's special review of atrazine, claiming it ignores synergistic effects of pesticide mixtures, fails to assess surface water contamination, and uses less protective drinking water standards than necessary. It cites evidence of atrazine's presence in Canadian groundwater and surface water, as well as its links to endocrine disruption in wildlife and various cancers and developmental issues in humans.

A consortium of health groups, including the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, recommends that the Government of Canada phase out all coal-fired power plants within ten years. The letter argues that this action would substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide significant public health benefits, citing Ontario's successful phase-out between 2004 and 2014 as a model. The authors note that while Alberta has a phase-out plan for 2030, provinces such as Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia intend to use coal into the 2040s.

The document outlines the health risks associated with cosmetic pesticides and advocates for the City of Calgary to adopt restrictive policies similar to those in other Canadian jurisdictions. It highlights failures in federal oversight by the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) and cites multiple systematic reviews linking pesticides to cancers, neurological deficits, and reproductive issues, particularly in children. CAPE notes that seven provinces and 180 municipalities have already implemented such bans, with evidence from Toronto and Ontario showing significant reductions in pesticide use and water contamination. An Alberta-specific poll indicated that 62% of residents support phasing out all but the safest pesticides for lawns and gardens.

The Quebec Pesticides Strategy 2015-2018 proposes expanding the list of banned pesticides to 60 active ingredients, including neonicotinoids, atrazine, and chlorpyrifos. These substances are linked to bee colony deaths, endocrine disruption, and developmental neurotoxicity. CAPE intends to partner with Équiterre to advocate for these bans to protect public health and the environment.

The 2016 CAPE Scorecard evaluates Canadian provincial bans on cosmetic pesticides, ranking Ontario as the highest providing 'Excellent Protection' with a score of 9. Other provinces such as Nova Scotia and Manitoba are rated as 'Good Protection', while Quebec provides 'Some Protection'. Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland & Labrador are rated as providing 'Little Protection', and Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia are listed as providing 'No Protection'.

The briefing argues that carbon markets have historically failed to increase climate commitments and have often undermined emissions reductions through 'hot air' loopholes. It recommends that the Paris agreement prevent double counting, ensure that international trading is supplementary to ambitious domestic action, and restrict market mechanisms to countries with adequate carbon budgets. The text notes a shift from a single global UN-led market toward a fragmented landscape of national and regional initiatives, while advocating for a transition from carbon offsets toward direct financial support for climate actions in developing countries.

The report examines the fragmentation of watershed data collection in Canada, where varying methodologies across municipal, provincial, and international borders hinder a coherent understanding of watershed health. Through webinars and workshops conducted by the Canadian Sustainability Indicators Network (CSIN) in 2014–2015, the report identifies key obstacles such as imbalanced institutional capacities and the lack of standardized guidance for indicator selection. It provides recommendations for improving indicator frameworks, including the integration of social and economic data, the use of metadata to enhance comparability, and the adoption of staggered reporting to make information more digestible. The document also notes a tension between the desire for national consistency and the risk of using a 'least common denominator' approach that may sacrifice local data resolution.

Carbon Market Watch argues that while few countries explicitly include international trading in their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions, carbon pricing is already used by jurisdictions representing 40% of the global economy. The organization warns that a lack of clear international rules could lead to non-harmonized standards and double counting. It recommends strict principles for carbon markets, including the avoidance of 'hot air' credits, the requirement for net atmospheric benefits, and the exclusion of REDD-plus from carbon markets.

The document advocates for the closure of Alberta's coal-fired power plants to meet national climate goals and reduce severe health impacts. It highlights that Alberta is Canada's most carbon-intensive province and that coal plants contribute significantly to air pollutants linked to premature deaths and hospitalizations. Using the Ontario coal phase-out as a successful precedent, the brief argues that similar action in Alberta would lower greenhouse gas emissions and reduce the economic and human cost of air pollution.

The document describes neonicotinoids as systemic insecticides that spread through plant tissues and are linked to large-scale honey bee colony losses. It cites a Worldwide Integrated Assessment finding these pesticides toxic to most insects and capable of impairing bee learning and fertility. In Canada, specifically Ontario, significant winter colony losses were reported in 2013 and 2014, leading to provincial legislation to reduce neonic-treated seed planting by 80% by 2017. The European Union also implemented a two-year ban on agricultural neonic use starting in January 2013.

The document outlines six attributes of resilience for watershed governance: inclusive participation, shared understanding, inclusion of ecosystem services, strong leadership, institutional flexibility, and decentralized systems. It emphasizes managing for change rather than against it, using tools like the Social-Ecological Inventory and historical profiling to build trust and adaptability in social-ecological systems.

The submission by the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) and partners details the 'triple threat' posed by Alberta's coal plants: air pollution, mercury contamination, and greenhouse gas emissions. It provides health-cost estimates for Alberta and uses Ontario's coal phase-out as a successful case study for improving public health outcomes. The authors recommend a complete phase-out of coal by 2025, avoiding new natural gas investments, and transitioning to renewable energy and energy efficiency.

The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) warns that Section 912(b)(15) of the Customs Bill would hinder climate mitigation by preventing trade agreements from requiring changes to U.S. law regarding global warming. CIEL argues this would leave domestic policies vulnerable to trade challenges, weaken U.S. bargaining power in UNFCCC and CITES negotiations, and block the use of trade agreements to phase out fossil fuel subsidies or promote green technologies, specifically citing risks to the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and U.S.-China climate cooperation.

Ontario eliminated coal-fired electricity generation by the end of 2014, a process described as the "single largest GHG reduction measure in North America." The transition was primarily driven by public health concerns and the influence of a coalition including the Ontario Medical Association and the Ontario Clean Air Alliance. Key enabling factors included the public ownership of coal plants, which allowed the government to absorb shutdown costs, and the lack of local coal reserves, which minimized economic resistance from producers. While the phase-out significantly reduced greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 34 megatonnes since 2007, the report notes that coal was largely replaced by natural gas rather than renewables. The experience highlights the importance of credible messengers, realistic timelines, and multi-party political consensus in achieving large-scale energy transitions.

The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) advocates for a stringent cap-and-trade system, the elimination of fossil fuel subsidies, and the integration of climate adaptation into infrastructure and building codes to advance Ontario's climate goals.

The report assesses the environmental impact of peat mining in Manitoba, specifically focusing on the Interlake region. It estimates that nutrient leaching from all current peat lease holdings would contribute between 0.02% and 0.35% of total annual phosphorus and 0.04% to 0.87% of total annual nitrogen loads to Lake Winnipeg. Greenhouse gas emissions from land-use change due to peat extraction are estimated to be no more than 0.4 million tonnes CO2e per year, representing approximately 2% of Manitoba's total annual emissions. The document concludes that a cumulative environmental assessment (CEA) is an appropriate methodology for managing these activities and suggests mitigation strategies such as carbon credit trading, immediate post-extraction restoration, and the use of sedimentation ponds and constructed wetlands.

The document explains that green bonds are fixed-income instruments where proceeds are earmarked for projects with environmental benefits, such as renewable energy and energy efficiency. It details four main types of green bonds—'use of proceeds' bonds, revenue bonds, project bonds, and securitized bonds—and notes that the majority are 'use of proceeds' bonds backed by the issuer's entire balance sheet. The market grew significantly from $11bn in 2013 to $36.6bn by the end of 2014, with major issuers including the European Investment Bank and the World Bank. While the 'Green Bond Principles' provide best practice guidelines, the document highlights a lack of universal definitions for 'green' projects, a gap the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) is addressing with sector-specific standards. For investors, green bonds offer a way to meet ESG objectives without necessarily taking on additional project-specific risk, though the secondary market remains thin due to a 'buy-and-hold' investor base.

The report presents survey results from 1,015 Manitoba adults on boreal forest conservation. It finds that while a majority support a balance between development and conservation, there is a strong preference for protecting the bulk of the forest, with 63% believing the province should protect more than 50% of its boreal forests. Trust in conservation organizations is high, while trust in government and industry is low. Most respondents prioritize clean air, water, and wildlife conservation over resource extraction like mining and logging.

The briefing analyzes Canada's 2014 emissions trends, highlighting a projected 116 Mt gap between 2020 emissions (727 Mt) and the Copenhagen Accord target (611 Mt). While policies in the electricity and transportation sectors provide mitigation, growth in the oil sands and general economic expansion drive emissions upward. The report notes that the oil and gas sector became Canada's largest emission source in 2012 and that significant reductions are concentrated in Ontario due to its coal phase-out, while Alberta sees the most growth.