BREAKING Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
When it comes to fighting climate change, a Toronto-based architect says personal actions have more of an impact than most people would expect.
Lloyd Alter, who teaches sustainable design at Ryerson University's School of Interior Design, is the author of the book, "Living the 1.5 Degree Lifestyle: Why Individual Climate Action Matters More Than Ever." In the book, he argues that the climate impact of actions such as driving less or limiting red meat consumption can go a long way.
"When we make these changes in our lifestyles, they add up," Alter told CTV's Your Morning on Monday.
A 2019 European study found that household consumer behaviour was responsible for 72 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Car usage, meat and dairy consumption and home heating were the biggest components of household emissions.
"The biggest offender for Canadian households is basically their cars. We buy big cars. We put a lot of gas in them. We drive longer distance than other people," Alter said. "Obviously that goes way down if people start doing things like biking and walking instead of driving."
Alter also points out that 74 per cent of Canadians live in suburban single-family detached houses. It takes far more natural gas to heat these types of homes compared to townhouses or apartments, given that these houses are larger and are exposed to the weather on all four walls.
But for many Canadians, it's not practical to change where they live or completely ditch their cars. Alter says making smaller lifestyle changes, such as eating less red meat or choosing to buy local produce, can still "significantly reduce our footprints without changing our lives dramatically."
Last October, Swiss investment bank Credit Suisse's "Treeprint" report calculated that it takes 44 birch trees to offset eating a 200-gram piece of steak three times a week. On the other hand, eating the same amount of chicken three times a week is only equivalent to six birch trees.
"When you put it into trees, it's something that people can wrap their heads around and understand because everybody knows what a tree looks like," Alter said.
"You could still eat a bit of chicken. You can still eat a bit of pork. You can eat these other meats that have a much, much lower carbon impact"
Some environmentalists have argued over-emphasizing personal carbon footprints shifts too much of the responsibility away from large corporations. A 2017 report from the non-profit group CDP found that 100 companies – almost all from the fossil fuel industry – are responsible for 71 per cent of the world's emissions since 1988.
However, Alter says energy production from these companies is driven by demand from consumers at the end of the day.
"You've got to look at it from a consumer point of view rather than a production point of view. Everyone says 100 oil companies are responsible for all the emissions, but we're buying what they're selling and we're putting that in our gas tanks," he said.
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
Two military horses that bolted and ran miles through the streets of London after being spooked by construction noise and tossing their riders were in a serious condition and required operations, a British government official said Thursday.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.