The Canada Climate Action consultation process is coming to Kanata-Carleton on 5 June when MP Karen McCrimmon is hosting a barbeque and town hall. This is the next iteration of a wider consultation process happening across the country. Beginning at 5pm, there will be a barbeque to benefit the people and town of Fort McMurray. The event will then move to a two-hour consultation on defence and climate change. Much like the events in Ottawa Centre and Ottawa South with Catherine McKenna and David McGuinty, respectively, this is an historic opportunity for people to tell their elected representatives that climate change must be taken seriously. Make sure to RSVP!
Defence and climate change are not mutually exclusive. Andrew Leslie, the Liberal MP from Orleans, understands this better than most. The former Lieutenant General and Commander of the Canadian Army wrote an op-ed not long ago outlining that Canadian national security depends on meaningful action to curb climate change. For this town hall it is important that the conversation be grounded in reality with an understanding that climate change and defence strategies are intertwined.
We want to make sure that everyone keeps some important points in mind as these consultations continue to move forward. Overall, make sure to tell your story and be heard. There are five topics that the federal government has identified and wants to discuss at these consultations:
- How and where to reduce emissions.
- Canada can do that by not building high-carbon infrastructure, including oil pipelines, LNG terminals, and fossil fuel-fired power plants, and instead seizing the economic opportunities in the clean energy economy and creating one million clean, safe, rewarding jobs.
- Ideas for new technology and job creation.
- The federal government can maximize opportunities in the clean energy economy by phasing out fossil fuels over time, making investments in clean energy, and giving incentives for the private and community sector to also make those investments and develop alternative energy projects in communities.
- How to put a price on carbon.
- A minimum carbon price must apply to all polluting sectors in all provinces across Canada.
- That price has to be high enough to reflect the social and environmental costs of developing dirty energy projects, and must rise over time so that carbon emissions drop quickly enough for Canada to meet its Paris commitments to limit warming to 1.5 degrees and ensure a safe climate and future.
- Preparing for the impacts of climate change.
- The impacts of climate change are being increasingly felt across Canada: storms, flooding and intense weather events; insect infestations and fires in Canada’s forests; degraded ecosystems and impacts on Indigenous cultures that depend on them; and many more.
- General ideas on climate change reduction
- Reject all new pipelines in Canada, including the Energy East Pipeline which will run through Ottawa.
Events like these, especially when scheduled on such short notice, require a lot of staffing power and resources. If you are unable to make it to this consultation but would like to help make events like these possible, please donate to Ecology Ottawa today so we can continue the fight to make Ottawa the green capital of Canada. Also, ‘like’ us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more updates about this ongoing consultation process in Ottawa.
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