Environment and Climate Change Canada needs to work with other government departments to determine its priorities and action plan for meeting national biodiversity targets, a new report from the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development argues.

The federal government is fumbling the management of fish farms, while failing to enforce rules and manage risks of infectious diseases, parasites, drugs and pesticides causing damage to wild fish, says a scathing audit released on Tuesday.

An industry ad to amplify pro-pipeline perspectives is just one example of how the online conversation around the troubled Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion is, increasingly, being pushed to its edges by actors on both sides of the debate. Casual opinion polls and social media platforms are open battlegrounds as messages spread quickly and debate become increasingly polarized.

Speaking at the Hilton Toronto, the leader of the Progressive Conservative party said "real people" in Ontario have been hurt by the Liberal government, and his plan to change that includes overhauling the electricity service provider.

If elected premier of Ontario, new Progressive Conservative leader Doug Ford says he will get rid of the carbon cap-and-trade system and make sure millions of dollars stay in the province rather than heading for California or Quebec.

National Observer watched, listened and transcribed parts of seven one-on-one interviews Doug Ford gave after becoming Ontario PC leader. While it would not be fair to say media members only lobbed softball questions at the public figure, many gave him a great deal of space to touch broadly on his winning platform without getting into the weeds on what he will actually do if elected premier.

Tuesday’s budget included some highly-anticipated support for local journalism, addressing closures of local newspapers and the massive job cuts that have ripped through newsrooms across the country.

Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s new federal budget doesn’t offer any new funding to support a new human rights watchdog that was recently announced to keep an eye on Canadian companies that operate abroad.

The federal government is going to scrap a “flawed” and “unacceptable” pay system that struggled to deliver pay to public servants, despite a price tag that will likely exceed $1 billion, Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced in his new budget tabled Tuesday in Parliament.