Featured Stories
Australia and The Asia Foundation Advance Cambodia's Knowledge Future
SAN FRANCISCO, California, Nov. 6 -- The Asia Foundation issued the following news:
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Australia and The Asia Foundation Advance Cambodia's Knowledge Future
Nov 4, 2026
Today, Australia and The Asia Foundation convened the National Policy Forum 2026 in Phnom Penh, bringing together more than 100 participants from government, research institutions, universities, civil society, the private sector, development partners and communities to discuss how Cambodia can sustain a strong and connected knowledge ecosystem toward 2030.
Under the theme "Cambodia's Knowledge Future: Sustaining Evidence,
... Show Full Article
SAN FRANCISCO, California, Nov. 6 -- The Asia Foundation issued the following news:
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Australia and The Asia Foundation Advance Cambodia's Knowledge Future
Nov 4, 2026
Today, Australia and The Asia Foundation convened the National Policy Forum 2026 in Phnom Penh, bringing together more than 100 participants from government, research institutions, universities, civil society, the private sector, development partners and communities to discuss how Cambodia can sustain a strong and connected knowledge ecosystem toward 2030.
Under the theme "Cambodia's Knowledge Future: Sustaining Evidence,Talent and the Knowledge-Policy Partnership Toward 2030," the Forum focused on how Cambodia can continue to strengthen evidence-informed policymaking as the donor funding landscape shifts.
Delivering the keynote address, H.E. Dr. HANG Chuon Naron, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Youth and Sport, said, Cambodia's knowledge sector will be critical to the country's next stage of development, and its future will depend on investing in people, research skills and institutional capabilities.
Australian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia H.E. Derek Yip said, "Australia's investment in Cambodia's knowledge sector has been an investment in people, institutions and partnerships that will continue strengthening evidence-informed policymaking into the future beyond any single program."
The Asia Foundation's Country Representative, Ms Meloney C. Lindberg, said, "Cambodia's knowledge sector has come a long way, and this Forum shows what is possible when government, researchers and communities work from the same evidence."
The Forum featured plenary discussions on connecting evidence demand with evidence use and financing Cambodia's knowledge future, followed by Knowledge Sector Labs where participants explored practical ways forward. Discussions identified priorities for a Cambodia Knowledge Sector Agenda toward 2030 and options for a mechanism to sustain collaboration between the knowledge sector and government.
The National Policy Forum is an initiative of Ponlok Chomnes II: Data and Dialogue for Development in Cambodia, funded by the Australian Government and implemented by The Asia Foundation. The program strengthens Cambodia's knowledge sector by connecting policymakers, researchers and communities. With the program set to conclude in mid-2027 and Cambodia preparing for Least Developed Country graduation, this year's Forum was a valuable opportunity to discuss how the successes and functions of the program can be institutionalised by partners and how a strong knowledge sector will be critical to inform policymakers' decisions on the country's long-term development.
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Original text here: https://asiafoundation.org/australia-and-the-asia-foundation-advance-cambodias-knowledge-future/
Michael Puchalski, MD, Named Division Chief of Cardiology for Nemours Children's Hospital, Delaware
JACKSONVILLE, Florida, Nov. 5 -- Nemours Foundation posted the following news release:
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Michael Puchalski, MD, Named Division Chief of Cardiology for Nemours Children's Hospital, Delaware
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Dr. Puchalski is one of the nation's most respected and skilled leaders in pediatric cardiology and cardiac imaging, and his fetal cardiology expertise, passion for developing clinicians, and proven ability to build outstanding programs make him an ideal addition to Nemours Children's Hospital, Delaware.
WILMINGTON, Del. (Nov. 5, 2026) - Nemours Children's Health has named Michael Puchalski, MD, Division
... Show Full Article
JACKSONVILLE, Florida, Nov. 5 -- Nemours Foundation posted the following news release:
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Michael Puchalski, MD, Named Division Chief of Cardiology for Nemours Children's Hospital, Delaware
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Dr. Puchalski is one of the nation's most respected and skilled leaders in pediatric cardiology and cardiac imaging, and his fetal cardiology expertise, passion for developing clinicians, and proven ability to build outstanding programs make him an ideal addition to Nemours Children's Hospital, Delaware.
WILMINGTON, Del. (Nov. 5, 2026) - Nemours Children's Health has named Michael Puchalski, MD, DivisionChief of Cardiology for Nemours Children's Hospital, Delaware. In this role, Dr. Puchalski will provide clinical and strategic oversight of the Division of Cardiology while maintaining active clinical practice. His leadership will include a focus on fetal cardiology and cardiac imaging as well as supporting the maturation of fellows and trainees, and mentoring faculty in the advancement of the Nemours Children's Cardiac Center's clinical, research and educational programs.
"Dr. Puchalski is one of the nation's most respected and skilled leaders in pediatric cardiology and cardiac imaging, and his fetal cardiology expertise, passion for developing clinicians, and proven ability to build outstanding programs make him an ideal addition to Nemours Children's Hospital, Delaware," said Aaron Eckhauser, MD, Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Chair of Cardiovascular Medicine and Executive Director of the Nemours Children's Cardiac Center in the Delaware Valley.
Prior to joining Nemours Children's, Dr. Puchalski served as Chief of Pediatric Cardiology and Co-Director of the Heart Institute at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida. Prior to that, he spent nearly 20 years at the University of Utah where he helped build the fetal cardiology and cardiac MRI programs and led the echocardiography laboratory for more than a decade.
"Nemours Children's Hospital, Delaware, is a national leader in pediatric cardiology, and I am excited to join, lead, and support an already talented and committed team of clinicians and associates who proudly and expertly serve children and families across the Delaware Valley," said Dr. Puchalski.
A founding member of the Fetal Heart Society, Dr. Puchalski's clinical and scholarly contributions to the field have positioned him as a leading clinical and academic voice in pediatric cardiology. This includes authoring more than 60 peer-reviewed publications and numerous textbook chapters to help educate trainees and faculty, notably around fetal and congenital heart disease imaging.
Dr. Puchalski completed his fellowship in pediatric cardiology at the University of California, San Francisco. Prior to that, he completed his pediatrics residency at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. He earned his medical degree from Wayne State University School of Medicine, and a bachelor's degree in physiology from Michigan State University.
Board certified by the American Board of Pediatrics, Dr. Puchalski is a fellow of the American Society of Echocardiography, American Heart Association, and American College of Cardiology. A frequently invited speaker, Dr. Puchalski has shared expertise and insight as a presenter, panelist and thought leader at numerous international, national and regional conferences, conventions and meetings.
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Original text here: https://nemours.mediaroom.com/PuchalskiNamedDivisionChiefofCardiology
Foundation for Economic Education Issues Commentary: Interest Rates Hold, Inflation Soars, and Christine Lagarde Departs
DETROIT, Michigan, Nov. 5 -- The Foundation for Economic Education issued the following commentary:
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November 4, 2026
The ECB's Next Big Mistake?
Jake Scott
Interest rates hold, inflation soars, and Christine Lagarde departs.
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A flurry of recent news from the European Union has put the eurozone economy into the spotlight: amid a background of solid growth in the manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), the European Central Bank (ECB) has held off another rise in interest rates as inflation sticks at 3.8%, almost double its medium-term target of 2%. On top of this, the president
... Show Full Article
DETROIT, Michigan, Nov. 5 -- The Foundation for Economic Education issued the following commentary:
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November 4, 2026
The ECB's Next Big Mistake?
Jake Scott
Interest rates hold, inflation soars, and Christine Lagarde departs.
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A flurry of recent news from the European Union has put the eurozone economy into the spotlight: amid a background of solid growth in the manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), the European Central Bank (ECB) has held off another rise in interest rates as inflation sticks at 3.8%, almost double its medium-term target of 2%. On top of this, the presidentof the ECB, Christine Lagarde, has announced her intention to resign in February 2027, roughly nine months earlier than her tenure is expected to end.
There is, evidently, a lot going on in this, but despite the significance of Lagarde's announcement, the most important is the level of inflation. With the current level of inflation at 3.8%, reached in September, it's the highest rate that the eurozone has seen in three years, having jumped from 3.2% in August, and 2.9% in July. And the rate of inflation is only continuing to accelerate, fed primarily by energy inflation rising from 14.3% in August to 18.8% in September alone, and responsible for about half of the headline inflation rate. Core inflation, however, edged up marginally from 2.4% to 2.5%, meaning that second-round effects are limited at the moment.
There are, moreover, no signs of slowing down: the Irish Times even predicts that eurozone inflation might reach 4%, while the Italian economy saw its own flash inflation reach 5.4%, with energy up to 31.4%. Headline inflation in September followed a similar trend across the eurozone, with Spain at 5%, Italy 4.1%, France 3.4%, and Germany 3.3%.
A major driver of the inflation is the steady growth in PMI, which reported a rise to 52.9 in September 2026: rising from 52.7, the third rise in a row, and the highest since May 2022. New orders grew at their fastest rate since early 2022, with export growth at a four-and-a-half year high, while output hit a 55-month high of 53.6, and business confidence was reported to be its strongest since February.
The lead has largely come from capital goods, with S&P Global's Chris Williamson putting this down to investment in AI and defense-related equipment. The growth itself was broad-based, led by the Netherlands at 55.6, closely followed by Germany (53.8), France (50.3), Italy (50.4), and Spain (51.0).
However, while the eurozone economy may be buoyed by mass investment in both future-facing technologies in the form of AI and playing catch-up after decades of lagged investment in defense, on the ground the signs are less positive. Consumer goods demand keeps falling, especially as households face cost of living increases.
Hence the need to pay closer attention to inflation, and the ECB's decision, reached on October 29, not to raise rates for a third time in 2026--at least, not yet. In the press conference following the decision, Lagarde and Vice President Boris Vujcic note that energy price rises "have hit consumer confidence" alongside a level of unemployment at 6.4%--that remains stubbornly high (now at 6.5%) despite the aforementioned resilience in the PMI.
Will the ECB raise rates again before the end of the year? The hawks on the Governing Council argue that the delayed impacts of energy prices, especially gas costs, will lead to core prices rising faster than before. If it's a data-dependent approach to whether rates should rise, they argue, then the data is only pointing one way.
The case for patience and waiting to move points to a separate but equally valuable set of data. The labor market is relatively soft, which limits what workers can expect or demand, and the rise in long-term borrowing costs is doing some of the ECB's tightening for it. Capital Economics predicts that the ECB will wait at least until December to make a decision; investors, on the other hand, are pricing up to three more rate rises over the next fiscal year.
Moreover, those who argue for restraint have historical precedent on their side. In 2011, the ECB raised rates in April (from 1% to 1.25%) and again in July (up to 1.5%), only three months later, against an inflation its own president at the time attributed mostly to energy and commodity prices. It was the first rise in rates since the credit crisis began in 2008; by November, with the sovereign debt market in crisis, rates were being cut once again. The two circumstances are not identical--and a rate of inflation at 3.8% is not one that can be easily ignored--but the lesson of 2011 is a reminder that rate rises cannot lower the price of gas, only the demand of those who buy it.
While the press conference pinned its hopes on "a recovery in confidence and real incomes, driven by gradually declining energy prices and a robust labour market" that "should bolster domestic demand," the October numbers temper this hope: private sector growth slowed in October to its weakest pace in four months, while national economic growth in Q3 has been sclerotic, to say the least. While the eurozone average was 0.4%, Germany's GDP growth was 0.2%, Italy's was flat, and France's was -0.1%. France is facing its own economic problems, including a possible sovereign debt crisis, and it is the economic and political circumstances in France that are feeding Lagarde's decision to step down as president.
Lagarde, whose tenure spanned some of the most significant moments in Europe's 21st century--from the pandemic, to the energy crisis, the invasion of Ukraine, and the eurozone's biggest inflation shock--is herself a political animal, not an economist. Having previously been France's finance minister, and head of the IMF, Lagarde has always approached the job in the way a politician would. Indeed, a survey in 2024 of the ECB's own staff showed that there was a perception "among staff that Lagarde was too focused on matters unrelated to monetary policy."
In Lagarde's own statement on her decision to step down, she indicated that she is looking for "greater freedom to express her views and to engage in non-monetary matters, because she cannot remain neutral when she sees the developments taking place in her own country and in the world." While political neutrality is part of the reason for Lagarde's resignation, the timing is specifically due to the developments Lagarde is pointing to: Reuters has suggested that, by stepping down before the end of February, she is "giving current European Union leaders time to pick her successor before a French presidential election that polls show far-right candidate Marine Le Pen is favoured to win."
Whether Lagarde's replacement will be the former Bank of Spain governor Pablo Hernandez de Cos, or the Dutch candidate Klaas Knot, or even the outsider option Joachim Nagel, current chief of Germany's Bundesbank, the harder question is institutional: Will a third rate rise come in December?
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Jake Scott
Dr Jake Scott is a political theorist specialising in populism and its relationship to political constitutionality. He has taught at multiple British universities and produced research reports for several think tanks.
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Original text here: https://fee.org/articles/the-ecbs-next-big-mistake/
FFRF Secures Safeguards After Speaker Pushes Jesus at Illinois School
MADISON, Wisconsin, Nov. 5 -- The Freedom From Religion Foundation issued the following news release:
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November 3, 2026
FFRF secures safeguards after speaker pushes Jesus at Illinois school
The Freedom From Religion Foundation has secured assurances from an Illinois school district that it will engage in stricter oversight after a guest presenter reportedly promoted Christianity at an anti-vaping assembly.
FFRF contacted Galesburg Community Unit School District No. 205 after receiving a complaint about an Aug. 27 assembly at Galesburg Junior Senior High School featuring Michael R. DeLeon,
... Show Full Article
MADISON, Wisconsin, Nov. 5 -- The Freedom From Religion Foundation issued the following news release:
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November 3, 2026
FFRF secures safeguards after speaker pushes Jesus at Illinois school
The Freedom From Religion Foundation has secured assurances from an Illinois school district that it will engage in stricter oversight after a guest presenter reportedly promoted Christianity at an anti-vaping assembly.
FFRF contacted Galesburg Community Unit School District No. 205 after receiving a complaint about an Aug. 27 assembly at Galesburg Junior Senior High School featuring Michael R. DeLeon,founder of Steered Straight Inc., an organization that provides drug and substance abuse prevention presentations to students. According to an observer, DeLeon used the school-sponsored presentation to promote his Christian beliefs, telling students that the most important thing in his life was Jesus. School staff reportedly applauded the religious remarks.
"Students should be able to attend an in-school assembly without being subjected to a religious sales pitch," says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. "Public schools have a responsibility to educate students, not provide outside speakers with an audience for promoting their personal religious beliefs."
FFRF's concerns were heightened by DeLeon's publicly documented approach to substance abuse prevention, which repeatedly intertwines anti-drug messaging with Christian evangelism.
During a separate appearance at Hope Church in Marlette, Mich., DeLeon explicitly discussed encouraging middle and high school students to embrace Christianity.
DeLeon told the congregation he reaches students "in middle school and high school, to tell these kids, listen, do not ever waver in your faith, do not be ashamed of the gospel, talk about how Jesus Christ impacts your life because that is all that matters." Elsewhere in the presentation, he declared that "our young people need to know who Jesus is" and that Christians have a mission to "carry the gospel and share this with other people. DeLeon also described Jesus as the ultimate answer to addiction, asserting: "Addiction is a disease from which there is no known cure outside of a relationship with Jesus Christ." He characterized drugs as one of Satan's "biggest tools" and claimed that faith-based recovery was superior to other approaches.
"All of the success in recovery is grounded in spiritual principles," DeLeon said. "Faith-based treatment works the best. Recovery that's grounded in faith works the best."
Toward the conclusion of the church presentation, DeLeon declared, "I'm trying to get into every school in America," before continuing to discuss his religious mission.
Although he made these statements outside the Galesburg assembly, they underscore the importance of ensuring that DeLeon's religious evangelism does not carry over into his presentations to public school students.
FFRF does not object to schools educating students about the dangers of vaping, drugs or addiction. Such education is an important and appropriate part of a public school's mission. But that mission cannot become a pretext for exposing students to religious proselytizing.
In its letter to the district, FFRF emphasized that public schools must remain neutral toward religion and cannot use school-sponsored events to promote Christianity or any other religious belief. Inviting an outside speaker does not relieve school officials of their constitutional responsibilities.
"A school assembly is an environment ripe for unconstitutional religious coercion," writes FFRF Staff Attorney Madeline Ziegler. "Students are not likely to feel they can simply leave the assembly without risking disciplinary action, and it is unreasonable to expect students to have to publicly dissent to their constitutional rights being violated."
Superintendent John Asplund acknowledged that the religious content had not been disclosed to the district in advance and explained that the district was implementing additional procedures to review presentations by outside speakers.
FFRF welcomes the district's commitment to stronger oversight and ensuring that future presentations remain appropriate for public school audiences.
"We commend the district for taking this concern seriously and implementing additional safeguards to protect students' constitutional rights," says Ziegler. "Inviting outside speakers into public schools does not give them a license to proselytize, regardless of the educational value of their presentations. School officials have a responsibility to ensure that every student can participate in educational activities without being subjected to religious pressure or indoctrination."
FFRF has previously challenged religious organizations using ostensibly secular school activities to proselytize to students.
In 2022, FFRF filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of parents and students after a Christian revival was held at Huntington High School in Cabell County, W.Va. The event featured evangelist Nik Walker and was purportedly voluntary, but two teachers escorted their classes to the revival. Some students, including a Jewish student, reportedly asked to leave but were not permitted to do so.
The case was ultimately settled after the Cabell County Board of Education agreed to significant policy changes designed to prevent future constitutional violations. The board also agreed to pay nominal damages to the plaintiffs and nearly $175,000 in attorneys' fees.
FFRF stresses that the religious freedom of students includes the right to make their own decisions about religion without pressure from school officials or outside speakers invited into public schools.
"Parents and students, not public school administrators or visiting motivational speakers, get to decide what role religion plays in their lives," adds Gaylor. "No student should have to sit through a sermon disguised as an educational assembly."
FFRF is pleased that Galesburg Community Unit School District No. 205 has taken its concerns seriously and is strengthening its review procedures. The state/church watchdog hopes these safeguards will ensure that future assemblies focus on educating students rather than promoting religious beliefs.
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The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with about 40,000 members and several chapters nationwide, including 1,400 members and a chapter in Illinois. FFRF's purposes are to defend the constitutional principle of separation between church and state, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.
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Original text here: https://ffrf.org/news/releases/ffrf-secures-safeguards-after-speaker-pushes-jesus-at-illinois-school/
[Category: Religion]
FFRF Asks IRS to Stop New Mexico Megachurch's Repeat Electioneering
MADISON, Wisconsin, Nov. 5 -- The Freedom From Religion Foundation issued the following news release:
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November 3, 2026
FFRF asks IRS to stop New Mexico megachurch's repeat electioneering
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is once again calling on the IRS to investigate a New Mexico megachurch for violating federal tax law due to its endorsement of political candidates.
FFRF sent a letter to the IRS on Nov. 2 after The Guardian's recent reporting that exposed renewed electioneering by Legacy Church, an Albuquerque-based megachurch with nine locations across New Mexico.This is just four
... Show Full Article
MADISON, Wisconsin, Nov. 5 -- The Freedom From Religion Foundation issued the following news release:
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November 3, 2026
FFRF asks IRS to stop New Mexico megachurch's repeat electioneering
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is once again calling on the IRS to investigate a New Mexico megachurch for violating federal tax law due to its endorsement of political candidates.
FFRF sent a letter to the IRS on Nov. 2 after The Guardian's recent reporting that exposed renewed electioneering by Legacy Church, an Albuquerque-based megachurch with nine locations across New Mexico.This is just fouryears after FFRF reported the same church to the IRS for similar misconduct.
The Oct. 29 Guardian article revealed that Legacy Church's senior pastor, Steve Smothermon, has been openly endorsing Republican candidates ahead of the midterm elections, including congressional candidate Greg Cunningham and gubernatorial candidate Gregg Hull.
In mid-August, Smothermon appeared in an Instagram video promoting Cunningham, who is challenging Democratic Rep. Gabe Vasquez in New Mexico's 2nd Congressional District. The accompanying post explicitly urged congregants to support Cunningham's campaign: "Greg Cunningham has faithfully served our church for 14 years and shares our biblical values. Let's pray for him, support his campaign, get registered, and vote to flip this seat for someone who will stand for God, our Constitution, and a better New Mexico!"
On Oct. 6, Smothermon also endorsed Republican gubernatorial candidate Gregg Hull on social media, declaring that Hull should be New Mexico's next governor and encouraging followers to vote according to their biblical worldview.
FFRF is particularly concerned because this is not the first time Legacy Church has been accused of violating federal electioneering restrictions. In 2022, FFRF filed an IRS complaint after Smothermon encouraged congregants to vote for Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Ronchetti and described Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham as "demonic."
Four years later, the same church is once again drawing national attention for using its religious platform to promote political candidates.
FFRF is urging the IRS to investigate Legacy Church, enforce the law and make clear that tax exemption is a privilege -- not a license to engage in electioneering.
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The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with about 40,000 members nationwide, including more than 400 members in New Mexico. FFRF's purposes are to defend the constitutional principle of separation between church and state, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.
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Original text here: https://ffrf.org/news/releases/ffrf-asks-irs-to-stop-new-mexico-megachurchs-repeat-electioneering/
[Category: Religion]
Conservation Lands Foundation Statement on the Midterm Elections: Bipartisan Majorities Want Next Congress to Keep Public Lands in Public Hands
DURANGO, Colorado, Nov. 5 -- The Conservation Lands Foundation issued the following news:
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Conservation Lands Foundation Statement on the Midterm Elections: Bipartisan Majorities Want Next Congress to Keep Public Lands in Public Hands
November 4, 2026
Washington, DC - Conservation Lands Foundation, the nation's only organization representing a nonpartisan network of community advocates solely focused on the public lands and waters overseen by the Bureau of Land Management, says the midterm election results that created Democratic majorities in the Senate and House of Representatives should
... Show Full Article
DURANGO, Colorado, Nov. 5 -- The Conservation Lands Foundation issued the following news:
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Conservation Lands Foundation Statement on the Midterm Elections: Bipartisan Majorities Want Next Congress to Keep Public Lands in Public Hands
November 4, 2026
Washington, DC - Conservation Lands Foundation, the nation's only organization representing a nonpartisan network of community advocates solely focused on the public lands and waters overseen by the Bureau of Land Management, says the midterm election results that created Democratic majorities in the Senate and House of Representatives shouldbe seen as an indicator of the power of bipartisan public support for keeping public lands in public hands.
Statement from David Feinman, Vice President of Government Affairs for the Conservation Lands Foundation:
"Americans, regardless of political party, love their public lands and waters, and the results of the midterm elections are another demonstration that bipartisan majorities want to keep public lands in public hands and they expect the next Congress will do so.
"We will remind the 120th Congress when it is sworn in in January of the broad-based support that exists across the country for public lands protections. Our agenda for the new Congress will include the following priorities:
* We will work with House and Senate conservation champions to pass legislation protecting critical public lands and waters and strengthen conservation policy and bedrock conservation laws;
* We will work with them to perform stringent oversight of the Department of the Interior's and Bureau of Land Management's actions to undermine public land management over the past two years, and call upon them to hold the administration accountable for its attacks on public lands, as well as protect landscapes already designated for conservation;
* We will work with them to ensure the integrity of the Bureau of Land Management is maintained, and increase funding for the agency to ensure it is properly funded and staffed to achieve its mission; and
* We will continue our legal challenges against drilling in the Western Arctic and the illegal reductions of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments, and will continue fighting bad administrative actions through public comment and legal defense.
"Earlier this fall, we launched the Public Lands Attack Tracker to provide a ready reference for understanding and speaking out against legislative and regulatory actions designed to diminish public lands protections. We'll continue to update this resource and will share it with our network of community champions, with media and with elected representatives across the country with a single message: we're watching, we're paying attention and we will speak out against efforts to degrade or destroy America's public lands.
"As the national network of community advocates who live near, care for and fight to protect large landscapes throughout the west, we will continue to advocate on behalf of the majority of Americans who want to protect natural resources, Indigenous culture, and the jobs and local economies that depend on restoring and experiencing America's great outdoors. Public lands are for everyone and everyone should benefit from their continued protection."
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Original text here: https://www.conservationlands.org/conservation-lands-foundation-statement-on-the-midterm-elections-bipartisan-majorities-want-next-congress-to-keep-public-lands-in-public-hands
Budget 2026 backs clean electricity, but rollbacks and fossil fuel expansion threaten progress
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 5 -- The David Suzuki Foundation posted the following news release:
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Budget 2026 backs clean electricity, but rollbacks and fossil fuel expansion threaten progress
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$52 billion towards clean electricity investments is welcome, but weakened environmental protections and fossil fuel projects leave Canada short of the renewable future it needs.
VANCOUVER -- UNCEDED xwm@thkw@y@m (MUSQUEAM), Skwxwu7mesh (SQUAMISH) AND s@lilw@tal (TSLEIL-WAUTUTH) TERRITORIES: The David Suzuki Foundation welcomes the $52 billion in clean electricity investments in today's federal
... Show Full Article
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 5 -- The David Suzuki Foundation posted the following news release:
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Budget 2026 backs clean electricity, but rollbacks and fossil fuel expansion threaten progress
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$52 billion towards clean electricity investments is welcome, but weakened environmental protections and fossil fuel projects leave Canada short of the renewable future it needs.
VANCOUVER -- UNCEDED xwm@thkw@y@m (MUSQUEAM), Skwxwu7mesh (SQUAMISH) AND s@lilw@tal (TSLEIL-WAUTUTH) TERRITORIES: The David Suzuki Foundation welcomes the $52 billion in clean electricity investments in today's federalbudget, which could help make energy more affordable for people living in Canada. However, the Foundation warns that continued backing for polluting fossil fuel projects, keeping gas on the grid and environmental rollbacks puts this progress at risk.
In response to Budget 2026, Pierre Iachetti, executive director, David Suzuki Foundation, said:
"The support for clean electricity infrastructure in today's federal budget is a smart investment and could be transformative for Canada. Clean electricity gives people cheaper energy bills, healthier air to breathe, and good jobs and economic security. But to realize these benefits, Canada must fully embrace the transition to clean, affordable, renewable electricity. That means getting gas off the grid. The federal government has to stop backing polluting fossil fuel projects and rolling back key environmental protections. The UN Environment Programme's Emissions Gap Report warned last month that the world is set to overshoot 1.5 degrees, bringing more extreme weather driven by burning fossil fuels. We're already feeling the effects in Canada from wildfire smoke, flooding and heatwaves. As world leaders gather at COP31 in Turkiye next week, Canada should set the example and break up with fossil fuels. The new electricity investments in Budget 2026 will help make that possible, but only if there's the political will to follow through."
In response to the clean electricity investments in Budget 2026, Stephen Thomas, clean energy manager, David Suzuki Foundation, said:
"For over five years we've advocated alongside dozens of allied groups and tens of thousands of people throughout Canada for this level of clean electricity investment. It's a hard-fought, once-in-a-generation win, and now all people living in Canada can reap the benefits. Investments in affordable, reliable, clean electricity will save households money on their energy bills and secure our economy for the long term. It will create over a million good jobs, it can use Canadian steel and aluminum, and it supports the leadership of Indigenous communities to build renewable projects on their territories. If we want more affordability and a resilient economy, we need to get serious about building clean electricity throughout Canada and reducing reliance on volatile fossil fuels for our energy needs and economic strength."
In response to climate and nature investments in Budget 2026, Lisa Gue, national policy manager, David Suzuki Foundation, said:
"Alongside the historic investment in clean electricity, Budget 2026 includes funding for energy-efficient retrofits and heat pumps that will help households reduce costs and greenhouse gas emissions. It also includes more than $300 million to establish and operate two new National Marine Conservation Areas, which will get Canada closer to its target of protecting 30 per cent of Canada's marine and coastal areas by 2030. However, gaps remain when it comes to scaling up funding to meet Canada's nature commitments and tackling plastic pollution. With the government investing in expanding forestry and mining, we need strong legal guardrails to protect nature and uphold Indigenous rights, yet in Bill C-39 the government is proposing to unravel these very protections."
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Original text here: https://davidsuzuki.org/press/budget-2026-backs-clean-electricity-but-rollbacks-and-fossil-fuel-expansion-threaten-progress/ (TNSmrp)
