To become a major player on the global battery stage, Canada must act fast: Canada has a once-in-a-generation
opportunity to establish itself as a major player on the global battery
scene if it acts now. This was the conclusion of an industry roundtable
convened in the spring by Clean Energy Canada and attended by
stakeholders across the supply chain: General Motors Canada, Lion
Electric, the Mining Association of Canada, the Automotive Parts
Manufacturers’ Association, Unifor, and others.

Developing Canada’s battery-supply
chain will help anchor our existing auto sector, currently Canada’s
second-largest export, and ensure we capture the jobs and value created
in the transition to EVs.

Right now, 80 per cent of the world’s batteries are produced in Japan, South Korea, and China. The
United States and the European Union have flagged their dependence on
Asia, mainly China, for batteries and battery materials as a major risk
to their auto industries.

To become a major player on the global battery stage, Canada must act fast: Canada has a once-in-a-generation
opportunity to establish itself as a major player on the global battery
scene if it acts now. This was the conclusion of an industry roundtable
convened in the spring by Clean Energy Canada and attended by
stakeholders across the supply chain: General Motors Canada, Lion
Electric, the Mining Association of Canada, the Automotive Parts
Manufacturers’ Association, Unifor, and others.Developing Canada’s battery-supply
chain will help anchor our existing auto sector, currently Canada’s
second-largest export, and ensure we capture the jobs and value created
in the transition to EVs.Right now, 80 per cent of the world’s batteries are produced in Japan, South Korea, and China. The
United States and the European Union have flagged their dependence on
Asia, mainly China, for batteries and battery materials as a major risk
to their auto industries.Read More

Mattel Wants to Recycle Old Barbie Dolls: Mattel,
the maker of Barbie, Matchbox and MEGA toys, wants your old toys. The
76-year-old toy company has launched a pilot program to recover and
recycle materials in certain old toys into future Mattel products,
creating a more circular model with sustainability in mind.

“Mattel PlayBack,”
as the program is called, is a “toy takeback” program that “enable[s]
families to extend the life of their Mattel toys once they are finished
playing with them,” a company press release said. The idea is to offer parents “guilt-free solutions for toys that have reached the end of their useful life,” the program webpage said, and to ensure that “fun comes full circle.”

To participate, consumers can visit Mattel.com/PlayBack
to print out a free shipping label. Once Mattel receives the old toys,
they are sorted and separated by material type. What can be processed
and recycled
is, and what cannot is either downcycled into other plastic products or
converted from waste to energy, the press release noted.

Mattel Wants to Recycle Old Barbie Dolls: Mattel,
the maker of Barbie, Matchbox and MEGA toys, wants your old toys. The
76-year-old toy company has launched a pilot program to recover and
recycle materials in certain old toys into future Mattel products,
creating a more circular model with sustainability in mind.“Mattel PlayBack,”
as the program is called, is a “toy takeback” program that “enable[s]
families to extend the life of their Mattel toys once they are finished
playing with them,” a company press release said. The idea is to offer parents “guilt-free solutions for toys that have reached the end of their useful life,” the program webpage said, and to ensure that “fun comes full circle.”To participate, consumers can visit Mattel.com/PlayBack
to print out a free shipping label. Once Mattel receives the old toys,
they are sorted and separated by material type. What can be processed
and recycled
is, and what cannot is either downcycled into other plastic products or
converted from waste to energy, the press release noted.Read More

Big Plastic’s revenge: Dow, Nova and Imperial Oil sue the federal government for protecting the environment – Environmental Defence:

Big Plastic wants to stop the federal government from regulating plastics under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act
(CEPA). They insist on the virtue of their product while blaming
others, namely individuals (all of us!) and municipal waste systems, for
the havoc that plastics wreak on our environment. If they win, we all
lose.

Big Plastic’s revenge: Dow, Nova and Imperial Oil sue the federal government for protecting the environment – Environmental Defence: Big Plastic wants to stop the federal government from regulating plastics under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act
(CEPA). They insist on the virtue of their product while blaming
others, namely individuals (all of us!) and municipal waste systems, for
the havoc that plastics wreak on our environment. If they win, we all
lose.Read More

Quebec nationalism push poses election challenge for Justin Trudeau: This month, Legault vowed to amend Canada’s Constitution to recognize
French as Quebec’s only official language and to call Quebec a “nation”
to underscore its distinct status, not to assert that it is a separate
state.

Legault said he would do so through a rarely invoked
authority to unilaterally change parts of the Constitution that affect
just one province. The move is largely symbolic, since French is already
the province’s only official language and the federal Parliament in
2006 recognized Quebec as a nation inside Canada.

Quebec nationalism push poses election challenge for Justin Trudeau: This month, Legault vowed to amend Canada’s Constitution to recognize
French as Quebec’s only official language and to call Quebec a “nation”
to underscore its distinct status, not to assert that it is a separate
state.Legault said he would do so through a rarely invoked
authority to unilaterally change parts of the Constitution that affect
just one province. The move is largely symbolic, since French is already
the province’s only official language and the federal Parliament in
2006 recognized Quebec as a nation inside Canada.Read More

Federal government will pay up to $5,000 if you make your home more energy efficient | CBC News: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Natural
Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan rolled out the Canada Greener Homes
Grants program today — worth about $2.6 billion over seven years — to
help homeowners upgrade heaters, install solar panels and replace
windows and doors.

Homeowners
will be able to receive grants of up to $5,000 to make energy efficient
retrofits to their primary residences, and up to $600 to help with the
cost of home energy evaluations.

People across the country will be able to apply online starting today.
An application starts with an energy evaluation by a certified adviser.
That adviser visits an applicant’s home and determines which
energy-saving measures would qualify for reimbursement.

Federal government will pay up to $5,000 if you make your home more energy efficient | CBC News: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Natural
Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan rolled out the Canada Greener Homes
Grants program today — worth about $2.6 billion over seven years — to
help homeowners upgrade heaters, install solar panels and replace
windows and doors.Homeowners
will be able to receive grants of up to $5,000 to make energy efficient
retrofits to their primary residences, and up to $600 to help with the
cost of home energy evaluations.People across the country will be able to apply online starting today.
An application starts with an energy evaluation by a certified adviser.
That adviser visits an applicant’s home and determines which
energy-saving measures would qualify for reimbursement.Read More