Environmental issues fail to gain footing on election trail

Here’s a look at what the party’s platforms have said so far in the campaign:

New Democrat Leader Tom Mulcair has pledged kickstart renewable energy production and drive down climate-changing emissions. He also said he will make “big polluters” pay to clean up their mess, strengthen the laws to protect Canada’s lakes and rivers. However, since August Mulcair has yet to make an announcement specific to the environment, with specific plans to tackle these plans. As part of his party’s platform, he has pledged to end fossil fuel subsidies, which he says will save the country about $240 million per year, by tightening the rules around the use of Canadian Exploration Expenses. (which is the cost incurred by the taxpayer for the purpose of determining the existence, location, extent, or quality of a mineral resource, or petroleum or natural gas)

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper has surprisingly been more vocal this campaign on issues pertaining to the environment. However, his policies lean more towards conservation for the angling and hunting-crowd as opposed to the tree-huggers.

So far he made a series of pledges in September to support the Conservative’s National Conservation plan, including the creation of a wildlife conservation and enhancement program to the habitat for species which are “harvested by hunters and trappers.

In British Columbia, he announced that a Conservative government will help restore and enhance the salmon habitat and marine environment, by investing $15 million to restore and conserve key British Columbian estuaries, and to preserve the lower Harrison River’s salmon ecosystem. He also pledged to establish a National Marine Conservation Area Researve in the southern strait of Georgia to protect the area’s marine life,

Liberals

Liberal leader Justin Trudeau has committed if electedto attend the Paris climate conference, and work on a “framework” for combatting climate; he also have pledged to establish national emissions –reduction targets as well as phase out subsidies for the fossil fuel industry.

They have also pledged to “modernize” the National Energy Board, conduct a “wholesale review” of the Harper government’s changes to the Fisheries Act and the elimination of the Navigable Waters Act.

As for water conservation, the Liberals say they will develop a “road map” to meet the country’s commitment to protect 17 per cent of land and inland waters by 2020. He will also invest $50 million annually to advance the development of Canada’s park system, national wildlife area and bird sanctuaries.

He will also increase “science spending” in National Parks by $25 million annually to identify ecological stresses.

Trudeau also says he will increase the amount of protected marine and coastel areas from 1.3 per cent to 5 per cent by 2017, and 10 per cent by 2020. He will alsorestore $40 million in funding to the federal government;s ocean science monitoring programs and restore $1.5 million in federal funding for freshwater research.

They have pledged  $200 million annually to create “sector-specific strategies” that support innovation and clean technologies in forestry, fisheries, mining, energy, and agricultural sectors.

Invest $100 million annually in clean technology producers, so that they can tackle Canada’s most pressing environmental challenges, whether in our air, in our water, or on our land

Their plan is to move to the virtual elimination of fossil fuel use in Canada by mid-century.

Green Party 

·        Only Green MPs will position our economy to reap the full benefits of the inevitable global shift to a fossil-fuel free economy.

·        Defend our coastal waters from risky pipelines and oil tankers

·        Only Green MPs will put our coastal communities first by standing against all new raw bitumen export schemes.

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·        Kinder Morgan proposes a seven-fold increase in oil sands tanker traffic through Vancouver and Burnaby, while Energy East proposes to increase tanker traffic through the Bay of Fundy. These tankers would carry bitumen from the oil sands, mixed with toxic diluents to make it flow, a mixture that is impossible to clean up if spilled.

·        A single tanker accident would ruin our coast and the lives and livelihoods that depend on its health. That is why we recognize that the economic, social and environmental consequences of approving these projects is simply too high. We will take a stand and defend our coastline.

·        Poll after poll shows that the people of the West Coast will not allow this risky project. More than half of British Columbians say they oppose the Kinder Morgan expansion, including more than three-quarters of young British Columbians. Even the Ontario Energy Board has ruled that Energy East poses more risks than benefits. While the old parties use complaints about process to avoid taking a stand, or even fast track and support these projects outright, the Green Party is the only party standing up for the people and communities threatened by these projects.

·        2 

·        Arrest the growth in oil sands expansion

·        Protecting existing jobs in the industry, creating new jobs by upgrading and refining existing production, and providing skills training for workers who have been laid off or who want to transition to more stable, long-term jobs. This strategy (more Peter Lougheed and less Ralph Klein) would actually help Alberta’s economy avoid the disruptive boom and bust cycle.

·        Given climate realities and volatile international oil prices, expanding oil sands production is simply not on. Most of the bitumen in the Alberta oil sands must remain in the ground. We will create new jobs in Canada’s oil and gas sector by refining the product we already produce, rather than shipping it out raw for refining in other countries.

·        In addition to increasing our refining capacity, Canada should be leading the global clean technology industry – an industry that has boomed in other countries like Germany, where over 1.4 million clean-tech jobs generate over 11 percent of the country’s GDP.

·        We need to respect the oil sands workers whose livelihoods still depend on the industry, and to support the tens of thousands of oil sands workers who have recently been laid off. Canada should provide these workers with retraining to ensure they find good, long-term reliable jobs close to home, not jobs that are vulnerable to cycles of boom and bust and often thousands of kilometres away from their families.

·        We must also provide urgent support to First Nations living downstream from the oil sands, whose communities and traditional foods are being contaminated by oil sands pollution in the Athabasca water and air sheds, with devastating health consequences.

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·        Implement a robust Canadian Climate and Energy Strategy

·        Partnering with the provinces to price carbon, implement a Canadian Fee and Dividend Plan, rapidly phase out coal-fired electricity, and transition to a prosperous, decarbonized economy.

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·        Climate and energy are two sides of the same coin. We urgently need a comprehensive, science-based national climate strategy to address rising sea levels, drought, extreme weather events, changing rainfall patterns, increased forest fires, melting permafrost and crumbling Arctic infrastructure.

·        A robust Canadian Climate and Energy Strategy begins with eliminating all fossil fuel subsidies. Canada currently provides more than $1 billion dollars a year in subsidies to the fossil fuel industry, meaning, on a per capita basis, Canadian taxpayers provide more handouts to the fossil fuel industry than almost every other country in the G20.

·        Reducing our reliance on fossil fuel exploitation also means reducing our reliance on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) development. Liquefying natural gas requires enormous amounts of energy, and new investments for export are inconsistent with our commitment to move toward a low carbon future. There are better more sustainable ways to take advantage of this resource, provide stable well-paying jobs, and reduce the negative environmental impacts. Our position on LNG development involves: respecting First Nations land claims and rights; repealing the federal 30% tax break for LNG investments; adopting the international shipping safety standards set by the Society of International Gas Tanker and Terminal Operators; expanding marine protected areas around proposed LNG projects; and banning industrial seawater cooling systems.

·        Next, we must work together to put a national price on carbon. In the complete absence of federal leadership, the provinces have taken up the challenge of climate change on their own. Although some progress has been made, notably in British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec, this patchwork of climate strategies is an inefficient way to tackle an issue that faces all Canadians.

·        The Carbon Fee and Dividend Plan is the smartest, most efficient, and most effective way to shift away from burning fossil fuels. We will place a fee on carbon, and pay the funds it generates directly to every Canadian over age 18 in the form of an annual carbon dividend. This plan will defend our climate, diversify our energy mix, grow our economy, and ensure energy security for Canadians.

·        Most economists and climate scientists agree that fee and dividend provides an efficient and comprehensive solution to a complicated problem. British Columbia has had a carbon pricing plan in place since 2008, during which time BC’s fuel use has dropped 16 percent, while GDP has outperformed the rest of Canada. It incentivizes investment in sustainable jobs and green technology, discourages waste and pollution, and puts money directly back into the pockets of average Canadians.

·        We need to invest in an infrastructure that promotes renewable energy, a more robust east-west electricity grid to promote renewable energy transmission between provinces, while reducing the enormous waste in our energy systems. We still waste more than half the energy we use. It’s time to save money and reduce pollution by going after waste.

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·        Create a National Transportation Strategy with strict new rules on rail safety

·        Strict new rail safety laws and new investment for Canada’s rail system – Restore Canadian railways with new funding and stronger rules to ensure efficient rail travel and safe movement of hazardous industrial goods including oil and gas.

·        Canada’s national rail systems are in decline. In much of Canada, rail routes that once moved thousands of people are abandoned. Edmonton to Calgary, Saskatoon to Regina, Halifax to Sydney have all been axed, despite their profitability.

·        Green MPs will re-invest in our national rail systems, building more train cars in Canada, increasing train speeds, phasing in high-speed rail where feasible, and creating green transportation and energy infrastructure corridors in key regions. An improved rail system will make Canada more economically competitive, create thousands of new jobs, reduce traffic congestion, and provide a fast, inexpensive and safe mode of transport in key commuter corridors.

·        We will develop a national transportation strategy – investing in local public transit and expanding VIA Rail to provide more modern, efficient, and frequent passenger rail service. We will invest $600 million in 2016-2017, building to $764 million by 2020 in VIA Rail.

·        Rebalancing the relationship between passenger trains and freight cargo will begin with a comprehensive plan to limit the burden on our rail system that has been created by exporting unprocessed oil by rail.

·        Further, in order to reduce the risk to our communities and ensure that a tragedy like Lac Mégantic can never again occur, we will strengthen Canada’s rail safety rules and give regulators the tools they need to protect our neighbourhoods from train derailments, especially those involving hazardous materials. We will fund the re-routing of tracks for freight and rail yards away from populated areas.