On June 2, vote with climate change in mind: Sustainable Orillia

Participants of a climate strike are shown in front of the Orillia City Centre. | Nathan Taylor/OrilliaMatters file photo

From OrilliaMatters, May 22, 2022

As readers know, Sustainable Orillia has now, for over three years, been sharing tips and ideas on how to make our lives more sustainable here in Orillia (and elsewhere, too, we hope). From time to time, we have also advocated for political action — for people to raise their voices to tell our political leaders in all jurisdictions that action on the climate crisis is a priority for you.

On June 2, Ontario voters will be voting for a new government, one that will take us from 2022 to 2026. As many of you will know, the Government of Canada has pledged to reduce Canadian carbon emissions by 40 to 45 per cent by 2030. This is an aggressive target, and with Ontario representing not only 40 per cent of the country’s population, but also 47 per cent of its manufacturing, there is an urgent need for Ontario’s people, businesses and industries to take aggressive action if Canada as a whole is going to meet this target. If Ontario does not do its part, it is very hard to see how Canada can do so.

That reality means that this election of 2022 is crucial if action to cope with climate change is going to be successful. Note that the increase in floods, fires and drought in Canada and elsewhere are signalling very clearly what the future might look like if we are not successful. Many scientists are using the word “catastrophic” to describe the outcome if we fail to do what is needed.

In the lead-up to election day, there is no shortage of issues on people’s minds: long-term care (after the high death toll in our institutions), inflation, affordable housing, education, and health care. (With nurses and hospital staff pushed to exhaustion during the pandemic, there are real concerns here.) The Ford government is also betting that promising to build more roads and housing developments will win approval from the electorate.

All of these are serious issues for governments to try to deal with. There is no doubt about that. The problem for voters — and for us all — is that the climate crisis, if allowed to worsen, will also make these other problems even worse.

Heat waves and sudden storms can be deadly for the elderly as we saw in British Columbia. Floods and fires force people out of their homes, putting housing pressure on the towns and cities they go to. Violent storms can disrupt electrical lines, cutting power to vulnerable people.

We are told that we can expect more pandemics and other health issues in the future as the planet warms up — with huge consequences for our health-care system. We’ve seen the disruption in education that the pandemic has caused. As for agriculture, we are witnessing drought across much of the food-growing areas of North America, endangering our food supply, not only on this continent but around the world.

How long will we continue to ignore this existential threat to us and our future? How long will we allow our governments — our supposed “leaders” — to ignore the elephant, not just in the room this time, but in the entire province and country? The climate crisis is that elephant.

Look closely at what Ontario’s parties are promising to do — at their policies. If you see little or no mention of climate change in a party’s policies, that party does not deserve your vote. Look at the attitudes and concerns of local candidates. Challenge them. Are they concerned about this issue? Will they push for action?

It’s 2022. The government elected on June 2 will be making decisions for the next four years, decisions that will affect you and your children — and their children — either positively or negatively. This year’s election is literally a matter of life and death.

Please choose well.

Read the article here