“Declaring a climate emergency is an opportunity for Queen’s Park to change direction, and take on the biggest challenge humankind has ever faced.” – Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath
A News Release from Ontario’s NDP/Official Opposition Party
Posted May 9th, 2019 on Niagara At Large
(A Brief Foreword by Doug Draper, Niagara At Large –
Late this April, St. Catharines city council became the first in Niagara, Ontario to unanimously declare a climate emergency, encouraging the city to pursue actions to take steps to address climate change and take measures to protect the community against its impacts.
Congratulations to St. Catharines’ council in joining Kingston, Hamilton and other communities across the country and continent in making this declaration.)
QUEEN’S PARK, May 9th, 2019 — The Ontario NDP has introduced a motion to declare a climate emergency in Ontario.
“Climate change is no longer only about our climate future. It is an imminent emergency. It is happening now,” said Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath.
This spring, flood waters keep rising and destroying billions of dollars of property in eastern Ontario and regions of Quebec while Ontario’s Ford government cuts funding for flood management
“Ontarians are already witnessing the devastating consequences of climate change first hand. We have seen this in Bracebridge, Ottawa, and in the southwest where there has been significant flooding. We have seen this in tornadoes in eastern Ontario. We have seen this in wild fires in recent years. We need to take immediate and decisive action to tackle climate change.”
Ontario NDP and Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath calls for Climate Emergency declaration
Research shows that the window for staving off the worst of effects of climate change is rapidly closing, and projections show that the cost of doing nothing is much greater than the cost of taking action. Passing the climate emergency motion is an opportunity for Doug Ford to reverse course and join the millions of Ontarians committed to fighting climate change.
“Declaring a climate emergency is an opportunity for Queen’s Park to change direction, and take on the biggest challenge humankind has ever faced,” said Horwath.
Since taking office, Ford has cancelled climate change mitigation programs including Ontario’s participation in the cap and trade market, cancelled conservation programs, scrapped green vehicle rebates, removed electric vehicle charging stations, and eliminated a program to plant 50 million trees – but it’s not too late to change course, and prioritize the fight against climate change, said Horwath.
Ontario would be the first Canadian province or territory to declare a climate emergency if the NDP motion passes. Several cities in Ontario and throughout the province have declared a climate emergency.
To learn more about the Climate Emergency Declaration Movement around the world, click on – https://climateemergencydeclaration.org/ .
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