Jaela Bernstien
Journalist Portfolio
Hello et bonjour!
I'm a bilingual (English/Français) journalist and visual storyteller based in Montreal, Quebec, where I live with my partner and our dog.
I file regularly for national print/digital, radio and TV/video, with a focus on science, climate change and environmental issues. I love to tell the types of stories that make you feel. My work has appeared on CBC's The National, World Report, and in Maclean's and The Globe and Mail.
Recent Work
A selection of my latest stories
Ties between pension fund directors and fossil fuels are 'incompatible' for some Canadians
Mar 17, 2023
Despite mounting pressure from Canadians who want their money to stop supporting oil and gas, the majority of the country's largest pension fund managers continue to invest in that sector — and are led by individuals with close ties to fossil fuel companies.
Why don't we talk about acid rain and the ozone hole anymore? Scientists debunk misinformation
Jan 28, 2023
If you're over 30, you likely remember a time when there was a lot of hand-wringing and furrowed brows over the ozone hole and skin cancer, as well as the threat of acid rain destroying ecosystems. Yet the success stories of how those threats were tackled are often overlooked, if not outright denied.
What one region's water level woes reveal about climate change and the St. Lawrence River
Dec 27, 2022
Strolling along the shore of his home on Ault Island, about 30 minutes west of Cornwall, Ont., Cliff Steinburg points to the end of his dock. He says this summer there was less than a foot of water there, making it impossible to launch a boat. He worries what next year will bring to a region known for its fishing, beaches, and boating.
A tiny fraction of the high seas are protected. Why a UN treaty is needed now more than ever
Aug 26, 2022
A Canadian mining company is eyeing the seafloor as a resource to harvest as climate change, fishing, shipping and resource extraction encroach on one of the last wild places on Earth. Why calls for a UN high seas treaty are more urgent than ever.
What's a derecho and why is it so destructive? The science behind the powerful storm
May 25, 2022
When Canadian tornado expert David Sills studied the forecast on Saturday morning, he never expected the line of storms headed for Windsor, Ont., would soon strengthen into Canada's first derecho in decades, wreaking havoc across southern Ontario and Quebec.
Innovative atlas puts Indigenous knowledge on the map — literally — to help tackle climate crisis
Mar 15, 2022
Hetxw'ms Gyetxw spent his childhood on Gitxsan territory in the Northwest Interior of British Columbia, and he's seen the dramatic ways climate change has altered the land where he grew up. He's used his first-hand experience to bridge the gap between Indigenous knowledge and Western science, and to help create a new interactive tool aimed at understanding and addressing climate change in Canada
Quebec entrepreneur, 93, donates cherished island after protecting it from city sprawl
Dec 14, 2021
For most of his adult life, Thor Vikström has watched the seasons change and the birds come and go from the small Quebec island he's owned that sits opposite his riverside home in Laval, Que.
At 93, he says he's at peace knowing the land — nestled between Montreal and Laval — will remain protected long after he's gone now that he's donated it.
Hazara expats from Afghanistan grapple with their own trauma while helping others escape
Aug 22, 2021
Halima Bahman may be sitting in the safety of her home in the suburbs north of Toronto, but her mind is thousands of kilometres away in Afghanistan, where the Taliban's renewed grip on power makes her fear the worst for family and friends.
