Canada and the European Union have been partners for more than five years working together on many important issues, including climate, energy, the environment, and biodiversity loss.
Join us Thursday, Dec. 15 at 8 a.m. ET for a livestream conversation with EU Commissioner for the Environment Virginijus Sinkevičius and Canada’s Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault.
They’ll talk about how the EU and Canada are currently collaborating to prevent biodiversity loss, strengthen food systems, encourage more resource-efficient and circular economies and end plastic pollution.
Register here.
The event will be moderated by David McKie, host of the Canada's National Observer podcast Hot Politics, and is produced by CNO in participation with the delegation of the EU to Canada
More about the panellists:
Virginijus Sinkevičius is the European commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries and has been one of seven members of the Commissioners Group on the European Green Deal since 2019. His portfolio includes ensuring the environment, oceans and fisheries remain at the core of the European Green Deal, as well as leading the Circular Economy Action Plan to promote the use of sustainable resources. He became EU commissioner at age 28, making him the youngest in the history of the organization.
Previously, Sinkevičius was a member of the Lithuanian parliament from 2016-19, where he served as the economy minister from 2017 to 2019. Before that, he was a team lead for regulatory affairs at Invest Lithuania. Prior to joining Invest Lithuania, Sinkevičius was managing editor at the U.S. office of the Lithuanian Tribune in Washington, D.C. He holds a BA in international relations and affairs from Aberystwyth University and a master's degree in European international affairs from Maastricht University.
Steven Guilbeault calls himself a radical pragmatist, which aptly describes his past as an environmental activist and his present as Canada’s environment and climate change minister. The son of a butcher from La Tuque Que., his environmental activism started at age five when he squatted in a tree to prevent the clear-cut of a beloved forest behind his home. He co-founded Equiterre, now the largest environmental organization in Quebec. In 2001, while working at Greenpeace, he scaled the CN Tower to push the federal government to commit to more ambitious climate goals. He worked as a consultant for companies like Deloitte, advising businesses on their sustainability plans. His biggest priorities are tackling the climate crisis, conserving nature, and eliminating plastic waste. As a father of four children, he says he aims to instil in them the values of hope and kindness, and wants to see them grow up in a world filled with empathy.
David McKie is deputy managing editor at Canada’s National Observer and host of the podcast Hot Politics. He is an award-winning journalist, a journalism instructor at three universities, a data journalism trainer and an author. He spent 26 years honing his skills at the CBC, where his work influenced policies in areas such as the adverse reactions of prescription drugs and medical devices, and the RCMP’s use of Tasers.
He is the 2020 co-recipient of the Canadian Association of Journalists' Charles Bury award for outstanding contributions to Canadian journalism and has co-authored three journalism textbooks and two user guides on the topics of access to information laws and privacy.
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