Emma McIntosh

Toronto, Western Region

Investigative Reporter at The (Toronto) Star

Investigations @torontostar. Formerly @thenarwhalca. Hosted a podcast called Paydirt. Fan of FOI and lake swims. Signal: emmamci.76

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Articles

Ontario’s black bear problem is about people

2 weeks ago | thenarwhal.ca | Emma McIntosh

The first blow landed behind my head, a thump on the outside of the cabin vigorous enough to jolt my eyes open. Then came the second, a whack by my feet that shot me upright beneath my sleeping bag. Frozen still, I could hear the deep, ragged breaths of whatever was on the other side of the wall, only inches of plywood between us. A black, coarse mass of fur brushed past one window, then the next.
Ontario Greenbelt’s controversial ‘Mr. X’ is banned from lobbying for two years

2 months ago | thespec.com | Robert Benzie |Kristin Rushowy |Emma McIntosh

John Mutton — the shadowy Greenbelt figure known as “Mr. X” — has been banned from lobbying government for two years. Mutton, a former mayor of Clarington, gained notoriety when integrity commissioner J. David Wake dubbed him “Mr. X” in the 2023 report that triggered the ongoing RCMP investigation of the $8.28-billion Greenbelt land swap scandal.
Fish, mines and Indigenous Rights ensnared in court case in northern Ontario

2 months ago | greatlakesnow.org | Emma McIntosh

April 11, 2025 By Emma McIntoshEmma and photographer Christopher Katsarov Luna spent four days in northwestern Ontario, including visits to White Lake and Netmizaaggamig Nishnaabeg.
In northern Ontario, it’s complicated

2 months ago | thenarwhal.ca | Ainslie Cruickshank |Carl Meyer |Elaine Anselmi |Matt Simmons |Emma McIntosh

For a few months, we’ve been asking noteworthy people across Canada to describe their relationship with the natural world in our Moose Questionnaire. It’s an effort to build community and celebrate how all of us have our own connection to the land and water. And I was so excited to give the questionnaire to Inuk actor Anna Lambe. The 23-year-old is known for True Detective and The Grizzlies, and she has a new show, North of North, which brings a humorous and honest take on life in the North.
Dispute over mines and fish in northern Ontario created by the Crown

2 months ago | thenarwhal.ca | Emma McIntosh

Get the inside scoop on The Narwhal’s environment and climate reporting by signing up for our free newsletter. The trouble started up again as winter gave way to spring last year, and walleye gathered at their spawning grounds in White Lake in northern Ontario. For years, people in Netmizaaggamig Nishnaabeg — an Anishinaabe community tucked along the lake’s eastern shore — had alleged poachers were catching huge quantities of fish from the waters.
What Ontario election platforms offer the environment

Feb 24, 2025 | thenarwhal.ca | Drew Anderson |Fatima Syed |Emma McIntosh |Elaine Anselmi

Get the inside scoop on The Narwhal’s environment and climate reporting by signing up for our free newsletter. With the Ontario election less than a week away, all four major parties have released platforms, offering a glimpse at their plans for the province.
Logging plans prompt water worries in Wynndel, B.C.

Feb 21, 2025 | thenarwhal.ca | Julia-Simone Rutgers |Shannon Waters |Emma McIntosh |Drew Anderson

In 2019, the residents of Glade, B.C., learned they had no right to clean drinking water, after members of the Kootenay community waged a legal battle against forestry companies logging in their watershed. A judge sided with the timber companies, arguing that their economic interests outweighed the community’s concerns about its water supply.
The Greenbelt scandal is shaping the 2025 Ontario election

Feb 20, 2025 | thenarwhal.ca | Drew Anderson |Emma McIntosh

Get the inside scoop on The Narwhal’s environment and climate reporting by signing up for our free newsletter. This story is a collaboration between The Narwhal and The Local, a non-profit online magazine covering urban health and social issues in Toronto. The Greenbelt scandal is the elephant in the room of Ontario’s 2025 election, even as Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives try to leave it in the rearview.
Ontario leaders' debates: environment fact check

Feb 19, 2025 | thenarwhal.ca | Leah Borts-Kuperman |Fatima Syed |Emma McIntosh |Elaine Anselmi

Get the inside scoop on The Narwhal’s environment and climate reporting by signing up for our free newsletter. The leaders of Ontario’s major political parties went head-to-head in two debates bookending the Family Day weekend — and in both, they rarely touched on the environment. During a total of three hours of back and forth on stage, the environment took up some 20 minutes. That’s a bit higher than our tally during the last provincial election in 2022, but not by much.
Tackling environmental racism in Chemical Valley

Feb 13, 2025 | greatlakesnow.org | Emma McIntosh

February 13, 2025 By The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan, Circle of Blue, Great Lakes Now at Detroit PBS, Michigan Public and who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water. This independent journalism is supported by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. Find all the work HERE.