Équiterre review: Here’s what’s been keeping us busy over the past month. 🌍

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Summer is here!

 

With the good: so many great fresh local fruits and vegetables, and time to slow down.

And the bad: heat waves and forest fires exacerbated by the climate crisis, and Bill C-5 passed with a gag order. 

 

At Équiterre, we’re slowing down a bit for summertime. Our newsletter will be back in September. 

 

In the meantime, if you know a student who is doing research to contribute to the ecological transition, there is still time to apply to the 15th edition of the Laure Waridel Bursary (until July 18).

 

Enjoy your summer!

Food

Healthy, fresh, light local summer food

Adapting what we eat to the summer heat doesn’t have to be complicated. With the abundance of Quebec’s summer fruits and vegetables, it’s a great time to try some new recipes, plan a picnic or get the grill out. A meatless barbecue is not only possible, it can be delicious! Yes, tofu, tempeh and legumes on the grill are a great source of plant protein for your summer barbecues.

 

Opting for fresh ingredients is not only tastier and healthier than transformed or processed food, but often less expensive too.

 

For a little inspiration, here are some inexpensive summer recipes, 51 recipe cards that feature Quebec fruits and vegetables, and even a calendar to tell you when Quebec produce is in season.

Consumption 

Companies receiving public funds to destroy new merchandise

In Canada, there's a federal program that encourages companies to destroy their unsold new products to get a refund of the customs duties they paid on them. Yes, you read that right, and yes, it's completely absurd.

 

Between 2019 and 2023, 20 million dollars of public funds were invested in this wasteful practice. Functional goods are being destroyed because it's more profitable than giving them away. And this in the midst of an environmental and cost-of-living crisis.


At Équiterre, we're working to investigate this program and to hold those responsible to account. Please help support our campaign to stop this unacceptable waste (in French).

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Tons of brand-new products are destroyed every day. Together, we’re pushing for a law to stop this systemic waste.

Show your support

Mobility

In a world that goes too fast, I’ve chosen the pedal boat

At first glance, you can’t help but smile when you see a pedal boat. But if we look at it differently: it doesn’t pollute, doesn’t make noise, it’s not optimized for performance. The pedal boat symbolizes a gentler - and profoundly revolutionary - way of life. And that's precisely why it deserves our attention. In a world that’s obsessed with speed and productivity, the pedal boat embodies a sort of quiet resistance: one of living in the moment and consciously choosing to go more slowly.

Climate

C-5: A shortcut to polluting projects?

Bill C-5 has just been passed by the federal government with a gag order, changing the rules for the approval of major industrial projects in Canada. The new law allows certain projects to be designated as being of “national interest”, thereby avoiding the important stages of environmental assessment and public consultation.

 

For Équiterre, this is a worrying step backwards. Polluting projects could get the go ahead without any real analysis of their climate impact, and without the communities concerned having any say in the matter. This lack of transparency and public participation risks undermining the fight against the climate crisis - and our democracy.

 

This law could have been an opportunity to build a strong Canada in which every major project serves our common good and protects our environment for future generations. Équiterre will work to ensure that these national interest projects respect Canada's climate commitments, take into account the voices of citizens and benefit communities in concrete ways.

Your voice

Call for testimonials

 

We're working on a campaign to promote investment in public transit, and we were wondering:

  • What do you appreciate most about public transit?
  • How could public transportation better meet your needs?
  • What incentives would encourage you to use public transit?
Answer

The story of stuff

Book of the month

The Story of Stuff

Annie Leonard


With clarity, wit and urgency, The Story of Stuff exposes the hidden systems behind our everyday consumption — from extraction to production to disposal. Annie Leonard pulls back the curtain on the true cost of our obsession with more, revealing how our "stuff" affects not just the planet, but our communities and well-being. This eye-opening read blends storytelling, science, and activism, offering both a sobering diagnosis and an empowering vision for a better, more sustainable world.

Please support Équiterre’s work on agriculture, healthy food,

waste reduction and sustainable mobility.

Donate now

Food of the month

Tofu

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Équiterre, 50, rue Ste-Catherine O., bur. 340, Montréal, Québec, H2X 3V4, Canada

514-522-2000

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