Canada's environment commissioner says the country is nowhere near to meeting its goal of planting two-billion trees by 2030.
The Liberals first made the massive tree-planting promise during the 2019 federal election campaign and followed through with a 10-year 3.2-billion-dollar budget for it in 2020.
However, an audit of the first two years of planting says it appears the government isn't on track to get even four per cent of the promised trees in the ground by the end of 2030.
Work on the actual regulations is set to begin in early March with invites to consultations set to go out Friday, just as O'Regan is scheduled to meet with his provincial and territorial counterparts.
Budget documents trumpet billions of dollars flowing into provincial sectors that don't necessarily scream Alberta. Tech, aerospace, financial technology, film and television have all seen growth, as well as more traditional mainstays like petrochemicals.
Canada has promised to prioritize immigration applications from Ukraine to bring people fleeing the country to safety as quickly as possible. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also announced the creation of a new hotline Thursday, "for anyone at home or abroad with urgent Ukraine-related immigration questions."
The idea of strengthening economic shortfalls unearthed by the pandemic has become a rallying cry for Canada and many of its allies, such as the United States.
The campaign, which is to begin today and run until March 18, will see the government match donations by Canadians dollar for dollar to a maximum of $10 million, says a senior government official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss matters not yet public.
Dr. Theresa Tam says she hopes Canada is past the pandemic crisis and is now in a transition phase, headed toward recovery. She says Canada must still be ready to bring some public health measures back if cases begin to shoot up again.