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Vancouver, British Columbia
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National Observer is a new publication founded by Linda Solomon Wood and an award-winning team of journalists in response to the close relationship between the oil industry and media in Canada, and the urgency of climate change. National Observer focuses on news and in-depth reports on under-covered Canadian stories in the area of climate, energy, and related culture, business and politics. It was launched in May 2015 by Observer Media Group (OMG), which also owns Vancouver Observer.

Seed funding for National Observer came from a Kickstarter campaign, 'Reports from the Energy Battlegrounds' in February 2015. Since its inception in May 2015, National Observer has provided intensive, critical coverage of the oil industry, politics, corporate corruption, and much more.

We also highlight inspired business innovations and lifestyle hacks that build sustainability and resilience and help in the transition away from fossil fuels.

We provide our talented reporters days, weeks, sometimes even months, to do the investigative reporting that is vital to democracy.

For more information please visit our website at: http://www.nationalobserver.com

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The feds paid private eye to hunt for a journalist's sources

April 26, 2017

Only a few days into his new job as an executive at Canada’s energy regulator Sylvain Bédard asked for help.

A list of six questions from National Observer had arrived in his email inbox. 

Most of the questions were about botched security arrangements for a National Energy Board (NEB) pipeline hearing in Montreal. 

One of the questions described a verbal blunder by Bédard​'s new boss, Josée Touchette. The gaffe had occurred during an Aug. 30 town hall meeting at the NEB's Calgary headquarters, staged to brief NEB employees after a protest had disrupted the Montreal hearing. Touchette had joked about tasering environmental activists.

National Observer's reporter — this reporter — wanted to know why. 

What followed was an investigation by the NEB into who told National Observer about Touchette's joke. This investigation will cost the federal government $24,150.

Click here to read the rest of the article on NationalObserver.com