Many Canadians are left wondering who is on the side for future generations after a series of anti-environment actions by the Trudeau government. Canada has many options.
The majority of the provinces and the feds lack the political will to do what is right. They continue to fail because of this. They fail enforce. They fail to deliver the promised results. They approve massive fossil fuel projects and buy pipelines.
It is easy to see how far we have come in understanding complex environmental issues and how we can address them.
After groundbreaking works such as Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, major movements began understanding and addressing environmental issues collectively in the early seventies.
The Club of Rome gathered some of the best minds of its generation in the late 1960s to study what would happen if we continued to consume and pollute as we had been.
They ordered a major analysis, which was published in March 1972. It was called The Limits to Growth and was a wake up call that warned that the planet was in peril if we did not change our approach to population growth and development. This was before we knew about global warming.
The Limits to Growth was published a few months later. In June 1972, The United Nations held its largest ever environmental meeting in Stockholm. The Stockholm Conference put environmental issues at the forefront international concern. It was the beginning for a systematic, objective approach that was supposed help nations make the right decisions.
At the Rio Conference 1992, the world began to look at things from a wider perspective. Understanding that environmental issues must be considered in tandem with economic and socio-economic questions is essential. When a government implements a new policy, the term sustainable development was used to describe their obligation to consider the impact on future generations.
Canada had its first environment ministry in the early seventies. In the United States, the EPA was the largest central government agency. Today, this tendency to create a omniscient top down bureaucracy is beginning to reverse. The grassroots, local communities and NGOs, as well as ordinary people concerned about the environment, have begun to play a significant role. They don’t have to be self-congratulatory megaphones like the negligent federal governments, but they are the ones doing the actual work.
This is a crucial time, as more Canadians are expressing concern about their environment. We are constantly informed by credible sources such as the United Nations IPCC. The world’s most respected scientists agree that reducing greenhouse gas emissions is essential to avoid catastrophic global warming. People want to take action and can feel part of the solution by taking part in local initiatives.
“HE KNOWS THE SECRET HANDSAKE”
In his seventh year, our prime minister has been a complete failure to meet international climate change obligations. He knows the secret handshake and attends international conferences. He then approves huge new petroleum projects, such as the Bay du Nord off-shore oil scheme.
Stephen Guilbeault (Trudeaus minister) now gets a lot of attention when he tries attending events with his former colleagues in environmental movements. They still cannot believe that someone, who for decades lectured everyone on climate, could change his tune.
A few months back, Canada’s highly respected (and unaffected) Commissioner of Environment and Sustainable Development, Jerry V. DeMarco presented a report to the House of Commons. This report revealed Canadas poor performance. After thirty years of broken promises to lower greenhouse gases, Canada saw an increase of more that 20% in its emissions since 1990.
As the Commissioner noted, Canada was once a leading country in fighting climate change. However, it has fallen behind in the fight against climate change, despite a series of missed opportunities. It is now the worst performing G7 nation since 2015’s landmark Paris Agreement (when Trudeau was elected).
Trudeaus pathetic performance is not unusual. Joe Biden came to office with the most complete climate strategy ever drafted. Biden’s first year in office saw the United States burn 25% more coal than Donald Trump’s final year. Biden also released large amounts of Americas strategic oil reserve. Biden’s plan has not been realized.
To counter this backdrop, Canadian cities and towns have become more involved in projects that can lead to significant GHG reductions. They also play a vital role in helping institutions and people adapt to climate change.
The federal and provincial governments were climate laggards. Now, local governments, those closest to the people, have heard the message. They are beginning to become climate leaders.
Trudeau is one of those people who talks well about the environment because it helps them win elections. The provinces push for more oil and natural gas extraction, then rail against any attempt to reduce the environmental impact. The public is tired and frustrated with being conned. Everytime they trust someone to act, they receive another mammoth oil project.
Let’s take some time this Earth Day to get involved and play an active part.
This is my fifth consecutive year as Chairman of Earth Day Canada/Jour de la Terre. Listening to my grandchildren, I know that they are concerned about the environment as well as their friends. We have better children for the planet. Let’s make this a better planet for our children.
Tom Mulcair led the federal New Democratic Party of Canada from 2012 to 2017.