The environment, carbon pricing and the energy sector were just some of the topics up for debate during an environmental panel discussion on Monday night.
Fridays For Future Quinte, a grass-roots, youth-led climate movement hosted the live streamed event which saw four of the five Bay of Quinte federal candidates participate. Janine LeClerc of the People’s Party of Canada declined to attend citing different beliefs.
Ryan Williams running under the Conservative Party banner says his party has a real climate plan which goes along with their Secure the Future plan and climate change is going to present both challenges and opportunities and if prepared, Canada can be ready for both.
Liberal Party member Neil Ellis said the environment has always been one of his priorities since he was elected to Ottawa and he understands the local issues. He says he knows protecting our environment goes hand in hand with supporting the economy.
Stephanie Bell running for the NDP says she believes they have a really decent environmental plan and Canadians deserve the right to a healthy environment. She says her party is serious about climate change and Canadians are ready to deal with the issue.
Erica Charlton is the local Green Party candidate and says dealing with climate change is a critical priority. She stated Canadians can either take a proactive approach or a reactive approach to the climate crisis but as it stands the country isn’t prepared for a rapid shift to green technology or the climate crisis.
Is the Paris Agreement an attainable goal?
Williams says while Canada agreed to the target of 1.5 degrees Celsius every year as a maximum temperature increase, the whole world did not sign this agreement, and there needs to be work done to ensure America signs on and the focus needs to be China, one of the biggest polluters in the world. He said for the Conservatives it is not just emissions on the national level, it is globally, which will take a lot of work.
Ellis said the Liberal Party is agreeable to those targets as it was a Liberal government which signed the agreement originally. He says all three levels of government have to work together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and their goal is to be the number two country in the world when it comes to green technology companies. Ellis says climate change is the biggest long term threat but it is also the greatest economic opportunity.
Bell stated the mantra going forward for all three levels of government should be “is it good for the environment?” She says the NDP’s plan discusses the environment or climate change on every single page and their entire platform speaks to climate action because they know the work to combat climate change needs to start right now.
Charlton noted at this point in time the Paris Agreement targets are now inadequate and if change is to occur, we need to shoot for targets that exceed 1.5 degrees. She says it will not be an easy transition but carbon neutral homes, electric transit systems, and retrofitting current housing all has to happen for this to be sustainable to make our future.
What is the most pressing climate or environmental issue in our riding and what will you do to address it?
Bell felt the most pressing issue is the fact we haven’t truly started dealing with climate change. She says locally it is so under the radar and we are not actively moving forward with climate initiatives like transit, retrofitting our homes, new sustainable home builds. She says there is a lack of action, education and outreach and she would bring environmental action and policies to local communities on a regular basis.
Charlton says there are lots of steps that need to be taken, first federally, before they can say efforts locally are going to be recognized. She says our farmers are going to be the most impacted going forward as drought and flooding cannot be controlled and farmers can’t work around them either, which leads to an even bigger issue around food insecurity. Charlton grew up in Prince Edward County and says she wants to protect the fields full of produce.
Williams felt the most pressing issue is affordability when it comes to environmental changes. He says local farmers are finding it hard to compete with imported produce and the consumer has to choose between paying more for Canadian grown produce or the more emissions-based produce. Williams says we have to ensure we make decisions that help industries make environmentally good decisions so that their goods can compete in the market.
Ellis says he sees a couple in our region; one of which is flooding due to climate change. He says it is very important to protect the Bay of Quinte and through the remedial action plan the Bay, which was one of the most polluted bodies of water in Canada, has been cleaned up over the last 15 years. Ellis says the banning of microbeads has also played an important part in the remedial action plan for the Bay of Quinte.
What is your party willing to do in regards to the energy sector?
Bell was firm in stating there would be no more subsidies of public money for oil and gas sectors. She says we need to support Canadian manufacturing, renewable energy and retrain those who are ready to transition to this new energy sector. She says no more oil or gas if we are going to move forward. Bell says it is a new way to build and grow through new sectors and new jobs.
Charlton says we need to stop imports from other countries because Canada is ready to process the raw materials here. She says the innovation is here and green technology that we can sell internationally can start here.
Williams noted the transition to renewable energy will happen more like a dimmer than a light switch and even a ten year goal is ambitious and far fetched. He says we need to catch up and invest in green technology that will replace our energy sector that is also global. Williams stated they would invest in hydrogen and carbon capture, utilization and storage. He said it is also a focus to get natural gas to China to help start phasing out coal plants.
Ellis says his party is committed to eliminating fossil fuel subsidies and there is a plan to phase our public funding for the fossil fuel sector to help reach net zero emissions by 2050. He says climate science is clear and the oil and gas sectors need to get on the path to net zero emissions and a reelected Liberal government will help achieve this by 2050 with five year targets to stay on track. Oil and gas companies will be required to reduce methane emissions by 75% or to below 2012 levels by 2030.
Will your party set a national price on carbon?
Williams stated instead of picking an arbitrary price, they will apply Canada’s industrial carbon price to our biggest trading partners. He says they are prepared to set the industrial carbon price at $170 per tonne by 2030, and this will be reassessed every two years and the government will work with the US and Europe as it is essential for the economy and jobs here in Canada.
Ellis says they have been steadfast in the fact there needs to be a price on pollution and that those funds are returned directly back to Canadians. The price on pollution has a cost and they want to make sure it is not free to pollute anywhere in Canada. He says a strong price on pollution can have a strong impact on reducing emissions.
Bell agreed to there being a price on carbon but noted the NDP would have a slightly higher limit. She says carbon pricing is one tool to get companies to pay for their pollution.
Charlton reminded those watching the Zoom webinar that 54% of delegates of the Conservative Party voted against recognizing that climate change is real. She then said the Green Party is also in support of carbon pricing and it would be set at $200 per tonne.
The candidates were also asked about ecocide as part of international law, reconciliation and youth voices in government.
Voters head to the polls on Monday, September 20.
