Investigations

Chris Bennett runs Blackfish Lodge, 300 kilometres north of Vancouver where Canada’s West Coast crumbles into the Pacific Ocean. Chris was out with a group of tourists when he looked into the water alongside his boat and noticed young salmon — called smolts — acting strangely. He drove down the coast with a few smolts in a bucket to show to Alexandra Morton, a neighbour who studied orcas. It was the first clue in a mystery of disappearing salmon, and Alex, an unlikely detective, stepped up.

Not every victim has a voice. Off the coast of B.C.’s Vancouver Island. wild salmon started dying by the millions 20 years ago. No one could figure out why. But one scientist uncovered evidence that part of the blame could be found under the water of the fish farms — and exposed industrial farming of Atlantic salmon in the waters of Pacific salmon. This one should be a hero’s tale … but it didn’t quite play out that way. Sponsored in part by the McConnell Foundation and I-SEA.

Months before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine pushed European energy security to mainstream attention, Canada was trying to muscle in on the continent's gas market, documents obtained by Canada's National Observer reveal.

One in five bank directors also serves on the board of a fossil fuel company, reveals an investigation by Canada's National Observer.

In December 2020, the government challenged Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau's ministry to reduce emissions from artificial nitrogen fertilizers by 30 per cent by 2030. Soon after, Canada's $23-billion fertilizer industry jumped into action to make sure the new rules won't hurt its bottom line.

Helping Canadians protect themselves from misinformation will require stricter transparency rules for political advertisers on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, experts say. 

A Canada's National Observer investigation has uncovered a network of at least a half-dozen self-professed grassroots Facebook pages linked to one of Canada's top right-wing communications strategists and his associates. Here's how.

A Canada’s National Observer investigation has found ads run by at least a half-dozen supposedly local Facebook pages are linked to one of Canada's top right-wing communications strategists and his associates.

As the number of apprehensions of youth in mental health crisis spike across Canada, concern is growing over their impact on vulnerable young minds, an Investigative Journalism Bureau investigation has found.

Between 1962 and 1970, 10 tonnes of untreated mercury were dumped into the water near Asubpeeschoseewagong Netum-Anishinabek (Grassy Narrows First Nation). Decades later, the community is still suffering from the poisoning.

Contaminated water in the English-Wabigoon river system has impacted the people of Grassy Narrows and Wabauskang First Nations for generations. Today, elders are still fighting for the government to acknowledge its ongoing impact.

For decades, the Ontario government suspected a pulp and paper mill in Dryden was polluting the English-Wabigoon river system. The contamination became public knowledge in 1970, but First Nations communities in the area are still living with the impacts today.

The premier’s office says the 413 is needed to serve a growing population and relieve pressure on highways that will soon be over capacity. National Observer and Torstar took an inside look at the money, power and influence behind Ontario's push to build the highway.

Christian Roman alleges a six-year saga of insufficient support for his disability. The university says it gave him all the help it could, but it wasn’t enough to keep him in school.

A Quebec-based engineer is using microwave technology to recycle plastic waste. Could his approach help cut down on the production of new plastic?