• Opinion

    The ethics of zoos

    I have always been an animal lover. Growing up, I enjoyed visiting the zoo as a way to learn about animals that I would never be able to otherwise observe or encounter up close. But as time went on, the animal lover inside of me began to wonder if zoos are really as great as I thought them to be. It made me question: wouldn’t the animals be happier in the wild? Turns out, the answer to my question isn’t as easy as yes or no.  There are over 100 zoos across Canada, all of which operate differently depending on size, provincial regulations and the organization’s goals. In 2020, World…

  • Environment

    Protecting people at the cost of the planet

    Justine Ammendolia and her partner Jackie Saturno were on a trip to the supermarket when they first noticed a problem. Only days after the pandemic was declared in March 2020, they were already seeing piles of disposable face masks, hand gloves, disinfectant wipes and other personal protection equipment (PPE) surrounding them on the streets of Toronto.  Both being environmental scientists whose summer plans had been cancelled due to COVID-19, they set their sights on a new goal: picking up the waste and tracking how much there really was.  In a matter of two weeks, Ammendolia and Saturno found 1,300 items of PPE waste in one Toronto community and since then…