David Suzuki: Election outcome gives historic opportunity for environmental progress

July 1, 2004 -

VANCOUVER – Today Dr. David Suzuki contacted Prime Minister Paul Martin, Gilles Duceppe, and Jack Layton--the leaders of the three political parties with similar environmental platforms--asking them to work together to enact policies encouraging sustainability that Canadians have been calling for.

 

“Voters showed that they support a vision for a sustainable Canada,” said Dr. Suzuki. “Now it’s time to make it happen.”

 

The majority of voters in the recent federal election supported political parties with strong ideas about environmental sustainability. Despite disagreement on other hot-button issues, the Liberals, NDP, and Bloc Quebecois shared common ground on a number of environmental issues.

 

Earlier this year, Dr. Suzuki met with Prime Minister Martin and contacted the other federal party leaders to support the David Suzuki Foundation’s report, Sustainability within a Generation. The report, which has received broad support across Canada, outlines policy recommendations that would make Canada a world leader in environmental sustainability.

 

The David Suzuki Foundation also sent a pre-election survey to all five major federal parties to learn how they planned to address the policies outlined in Sustainability within a Generation. Although the Conservative party didn’t respond to the questionnaire, the other parties had similar approaches to the following issues:

· Shifting to the production of non-polluting energy sources like wind power

· Protecting and conserving fresh water

· Building sustainable cities where more than 80 per cent of Canadians live

 

Dr. Suzuki also sent a letter to Conservative party leader Stephen Harper asking that his party reconsider its election position on the Kyoto agreement and other key environmental issues for Canada.

 

“I hope the parties will put aside their differences and work towards enacting policies they agree on—like ones that encourage environmental sustainability,” said Dr. Suzuki. “This is a bold new era for Canada. Let’s make it a green one.”

 

 

For more information, contact:

Dominic Ali

Communications Specialist

Tel: 604-732-4228 ext. 246

E: dali@davidsuzuki.org

Backgrounder

David Suzuki: Election outcome gives historic opportunity for environmental progress

 

In 1999, an extensive study of countries belonging to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), found that Canada finished 28th out of 29 industrialized nations in environmental performance. Only the United States scored lower. Canadians are known for their love of nature, but there is a large gap between our environmental values and environmental performance.

To put Canada on the true path to sustainability by the year 2030, the David Suzuki Foundation released an action plan called Sustainability within a Generation: A New Vision for Canada in February 2004. The report outlines policy recommendations that would make Canada a world leader in environmental sustainability.

Dr. David Suzuki and Executive Director of the David Suzuki Foundation, Mr. Jim Fulton, met with Prime Minister Martin to discuss the document. Prime Minister Martin indicated his interest in the document and said he would consider its recommendations.

There are nine challenges outlines in Sustainability within a Generation that must be addressed if Canada is to achieve a sustainable future:

· GENERATING GENUINE WEALTH: Supplementing the narrow goal of economic growth with the objective of genuine wealth

· IMPROVING EFFICIENCY: Increasing the efficiency of energy and resource use by a factor of four to 10 times

· SHIFTING TO CLEAN ENERGY: Replacing fossil fuels with clean, low-impact renewable sources of energy

· REDUCING WASTE AND POLLUTION: Moving from a linear “throw-away” economy to a cyclical “reduce, re-use, and recycle” economy

· PROTECTING AND CONSERVING WATER: Recognizing and respecting the value of water in our laws, policies, and actions

· PRODUCING HEALTHY FOOD: Ensuring Canadian food is healthy, and produced in ways that do not compromise our land, water, or biodiversity

· CONSERVING, PROTECTING AND RESTORING CANADIAN NATURE: Taking effective steps to stop the decline of biodiversity and revive the health of ecosystems

· BUILDING SUSTAINABLE CITIES: Avoiding urban sprawl in order to protect agricultural land and wild places, and improve our quality of life

· PROMOTING GLOBAL SUSTAINABILITY: Increasing Canada’s contribution to sustainable development in poor countries

 

Canadians are concerned about the kind of world we will leave for future generations. These concerns, however, are not reflected in the priorities established by our governments. Sustainability within a Generation addresses how Canada can have an efficient and clean economy while maintaining our quality of life for future generations.