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DOUBLE YOUR IMPACT | SUBSCRIBE TO THIS NEWSLETTER ’Twas the night before Christmas And all through The Narwhal  They clicked shut their laptops With plans to go AWOL Which is to say, welcome to The Narwhal’s final weekly newsletter of 2025!  Our team is (nearly) ready to close up our digital newsroom for a much-needed break. And it’s our tradition to send you off with some lighter holiday reads, including a look back at some of the top stories and photos from the year.  You’ll find those stories below — as well as our latest reporting, because the news just doesn’t happen on a predictable schedule. That includes a follow-up to last week’s scoop, from reporter Fatima Syed, about the Ontario municipalities pushing back against a law that prevents them from charging Enbridge Gas to build pipelines on public land. The fossil fuel giant didn’t respond to Fatima before we published that story, though she sent detailed questions and gave four business days to answer. When they later got back to her, Fatima and two editors worked into Christmas Eve to bring you this update.   🔗 Enbridge Gas asks Ontario energy regulator to affirm its free access to public land in Waterloo Region “As reporters, we try really, really hard to ensure that everyone’s perspective is fairly represented in our stories, including those of government and industry,” Fatima told me. Thanks to that effort, we’ve learned that Enbridge hopes to convince Ontario’s energy regulator at hearings in 2026 that its free access is good for the province, adding that fees “would simply be passed on to customers.” You can bet Fatima will be watching closely as this story continues to unfold in the year ahead.  Our regular Thursday newsletter will return on Jan. 8, and we’ll get to your emails when we return to our desks in the new year. Until then, happy holidays! Take care and see you in 2026, Jacqueline Ronson Assistant editor P.S. This month, we’ve asked our readers to step up to help us continue this work in the new year — and boy have you ever! Thanks to the generous support of more than 1,000 of you, we’re closing in on our ambitious new goal to bring in $300,000 this month. Can you help us cross the finish line? Right now, all donations are being matched!   Double your impact The Narwhal, wrapped 10 top stories from 2025, from coast to coast to coast The Narwhal’s reporting about the natural world in Canada turned a lot of heads this year. Here are some of the ones you read the most, from every corner of the country.   A double rainbow, tiny birds and outdoor hockey: the best photos of 2025 From a baby seal rescue in Vancouver, to oil and gas wells in rural Alberta, icefields in Cambridge Bay, Nvt., and beyond, these images tell the story of the year that was at The Narwhal.   What we’re reading: The Narwhal’s 2025 book list As the year comes to a close, we reflect on some of the books we read this year that reflected our work or changed the way we thought about it.   This week in The Narwhal Grid alerts: what you need to know as electricity demand ramps up in Alberta By Drew Anderson  High electricity use in cold weather can lead to grid alerts. But there’s a tangled web of factors at play. READ MORE A big bold plan to suck carbon dioxide out of the air — and the rural community at the centre of it By Julia-Simone Rutgers READ MORE Will anyone want Canada’s oil and gas? Energy regulator delays forecast due to shifting policies By Carl Meyer READ MORE Whether it comes in a cone or a surprise pre-holiday email, reporters for The Narwhal appreciate a good scoop. Help us keep digging in 2026 — and double your impact today! View this e-mail in your browser  Opt out of future emails in this fundraising campaign. Sign up for this newsletter Read about all the ways you can give to The Narwhal. You are on this list because you signed up to receive The Narwhal’s newsletter. Unsubscribe from this list. Update your email address *|HTML:LIST_ADDRESS_HTML|* *|END:IF|* Copyright © *|CURRENT_YEAR|* The Narwhal News Society, all rights reserved.