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We’ve made our list. We’ve checked it twice. Now, it’s time to find out which Canadians will be getting a stocking full of eco-friendly goodies and who will be getting dirty, unsustainable coal come Christmas morning.

The Naughty List

#1—Resolute Forest Products

Top of the Naughty List this year is paper company, Resolute Forest Products. This Grinch is stealing the Christmas trees of the wild, willfully razing ancient Boreal forests and bullying opponents. Respected independent auditor, Rainforest Alliance, has already stripped Resolute of three certificates for responsible forest management. In May, on the brink of losing its fourth, the company promptly launched a $400,000 lawsuit against the auditor as well as a $7 million lawsuit against Greenpeace for similarly speaking out against its destructive practices.

The Boreal Forest is home to 25% of Earth’s wetlands and iconic animals such as caribou, wolverine and lynx. It also stores an estimated 208 billion tonnes of carbon. Already, Canada leads the world in intact forest loss, including the Boreal. Without action to curb unsustainable practices like Resolute’s, Canada is on the road to worsening climate change and betraying the amazing biodiversity we hold in trust for the world.

#2—Edelman

Hired by Resolute to lobby against Bill 83, public relations firm Edelman quietly tried to rally people against the bill using phony grassroots, or “astroturfing”, tactics. Greenpeace also caught Edelman under the mistletoe with another big bad: TransCanada (see #3). To this oil and gas giant, Edelman recommended similar tactics as well as morally reprehensible dirty tricks like smear campaigns personally targeting activists and citizen’s groups.

 

#3—TransCanada

TransCanada’s proposed Energy East pipeline has drawn out thousands of protesters in opposition to plans that threatened endangered beluga whales and were found by federal auditors to be non-compliant to standards in nine different counts. The pipeline would release over 30 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year. With caribou and reindeer facing higher threats from climate change and industrial developments, let’s hope Santa will still have Rudolph to guide his sleigh through all that foggy air pollution and deliver TransCanada’s hard-earned coal.

#4—The National Energy Board (NEB)

Jeopardizing Canada’s winter wonderland in the Arctic is NEB. In green-lighting seismic testing for oil exploration in the Baffin Bay and Davis Strait, the NEB has failed Inuit groups, who depend on marine life for their livelihoods. Why? Seismic testing uses sonar-like technology to map the ocean floor for oil and gas deposits. It has been linked to animal stress behaviours in 37 species. In Canada’s race to drill for oil in the North Pole, the “True North Strong and Free” means nothing if the incredible creatures and landscapes that define it disappear. Being a good neighbour to Santa means not drilling in his backyard.

#5—The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)

The CRA continues to be used as a partisan tool for the federal government to audit 52 charities accused of political activities. So far, no wrongdoing has been found, which means that not only is the CRA wasting charities’ donations by diverting time and money from their worthy causes, but its also wasting taxpayer money on scare tactics masquerading as legitimate due diligence. Almost all targeted charities are left-leaning or environmental. Despite the widespread controversy this has generated about freedom of speech, the House of Commons Finance Committee has rejected requests to launch a probe into these activities. Talk about Scrooge.

Runners-up on our list this year include:

  • Clover Leaf Seafoods (for unsustainable tuna sourcing).
  • Shell (for Arctic drilling plans endangering marine life in the US and potentially Canada).
  • Alberta Premier Jim Prentice (for promoting unsafe, dirty energy and backtracking on provincial coal phase-out promises).
  • Conservative MP Vancouver South, Wai Young (for introducing Bill C-639, which gives mandatory jail time to anyone interfering with critical infrastructure, potentially criminalizing pipeline protesters).

The Nice List

Luckily, for every Grinch there’s a Cindy Lou Who and a Tiny Tim for every Scrooge. Here are some folks who made our Nice List this year.

#1—Best Buy

The world’s largest electronics retailer can look forward to oodles of FSC-certified paper in its stocking this year. Earlier this month, following a Greenpeace campaign that mobilized 52,000 supporters continent-wide, Best Buy announced major improvements to its purchasing standards. The company is committed to moving away from unsustainable Resolute paper for its flyers to FSC-certified products, promising to put in place new sustainability policies by next spring. This season, shoppers can feel good about buying their gifts from this forest-friendly retailer!

#2—LEGO

We’re also feeling pretty awesome about all the kids who will be unwrapping LEGO toys over the holidays. Only a month after Shell announced Arctic-drilling plans, LEGO listened to the one million people urging it to end its 50-year partnership with Shell. The company opted not to renew the co-promotion that saw Shell’s logo branded on several toys.

#3—The Supreme Court of Canada

The Court is obviously riding the Yule-tides of change calling for greater Indigenous justice across Canada. In a unanimous ruling in June, the Court recognized, for the first time, the land title of the Tsilhqot’in First Nation in BC, expanding the right to reclaim the possession and permanent control of ancestral lands. This landmark ruling sets a precedent for future claims and could mean big changes for pipeline approvals since First Nations groups with recognized titles must provide consent to any projects on their lands.

#4—The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC)

In October, following campaigns from Greenpeace and the Canadian Environmental Law Association the CNSC ruled that nuclear power plants must give anti-radiation pills to all nearby residents before setting up shop. These potassium iodide pills prevent the thyroid from absorbing radiation in the event of a breach. This will be the first distribution in Ontario. As long as the CNSC’s stockings are hung by the chimney with care, we think that St. Nick will soon be there.

#5—Julie Gelfand

Appointed earlier this year, Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Julie Gelfand, has been a voice of reason in Parliament, providing government and the public with objective environmental information. Gelfand called the government out for failing to make progress on emissions reductions, closed-door policymaking, and environmental risks in the Arctic. If Canada can act on this top-notch information, we can stop the pace of ice melting and ensure that we keep having white Christmases in the North Pole.

We think that, like Ontario, we can permanently phase out coal—at Christmas and beyond. Best Buy and LEGO are the proof that with a little courage, it’s possible to go from naughty to nice rather quickly.