On May 2nd, Vote For a Future For Your Grandchildren

From the Association of Suzuki Elders, these thoughts on the upcoming Canadian federal election:

Two benchmarks of a sustainable future for our grandchildren are careful management of Canada’s natural environment and its resources, and promotion of a low-carbon economy.

Let’s use the forthcoming federal election campaign to engage our candidates in meaningful discussion about the environment. Our grandchildren can’t elect their future, but we elders can.

Question to the candidates: “Please describe how you and your party’s policies will promote a sustainable future for my grandchildren. For example, what are your specific commitments to the following important issues?

  • A sustainable low-carbon economy that includes a national clean energy plan, financial support for renewable energy production and energy use efficiency, implementation of a revenue-neutral federal carbon tax, removal of all subsidies to coal, oil, gas and coal-bed methane industries, and support for rapid transit and new public transportation systems.
  • Sustained national action on climate change, including international agreements on technology transfer, financing and co-operation on emissions reductions and adaptation in developing countries in exchange for their agreement to limit emissions.
  • Ensuring Canada’s future as a food production and exporting country by establishing a national food and farmlands policy, restructuring of our agricultural markets to sustain farming, encouragement of family farms and ensuring that farm families receive a fair share of consumer income, and support for organic agriculture instead of subsidizing costly agro-chemicals and genetically modified crops.
  • Protection of our irreplaceable marine fish habitats by placing a permanent legislated moratorium on oil and gas exploration and development in ecologically sensitive areas such as the west coast of British Columbia and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and by eliminating open-ocean net-pen aquaculture practices.

Remember those wise words from Albert Einstein when casting your ballot:

“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”

More links:

The Harper Government’s Record on Climate Change

Federal Election 2011: A Checklist For Clean Energy Success

Suzuki Elders

0 thoughts on “On May 2nd, Vote For a Future For Your Grandchildren”

  1. Christine: It seems that not only have the conservative candidates been instructed to avoid this question, but quite a few have been notably absent from all-candidate meetings.

    The local Con candidate has finally deigned to attend just one such meeting, while the other party candidates have somehow managed to attend them all.

    Predictably, the Green candidate has the best overall policy, but equally predictably, will not get elected. Elizabeth May is running in an adjoining riding to us here, and she may well be victorious.

    NDP is currently incumbent here, has been for awhile, and gives a somewhat typical garbled political non-answer.

    My Liberal candidate seems more concerned, and is more familiar with the local fishing industry – which I would expect. He’s a good guy, very approachable and would definitely take our concerns to Ottawa. In fact, he was the first one to mention our carbon footprint when asked about the $15 million grant the local E & N railway is seeking for needed infrastructure maintenance. Moving bulk goods out of Nanaimo (goods which arrive by ocean) either north or south, is much cleaner when moved by rail.

    Reply
    • Do you think the Liberal candidate stands a chance? It sounds like he would be the best bet, if your NDP incumbent has mastered the art of political double speak.
      And of course the Cons refusal to participate in public debates during an election is yet another poke in the eye to Canadian democracy. Cowards!

      Reply

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