April 20, 2007
en francais (93KB PDF)
OTTAWA - Dr. David Suzuki delivered the environmental priorities and vision of more than 30,000 Canadians to Parliament Hill today at a news conference.
Dr. Suzuki was fulfilling his promise to deliver the public's ideas on how to best protect the environment to the country's political leaders. The comments were collected during his month-long cross-Canada bus tour in February 2007.
"We listened to Canadians from Newfoundland and Labrador to B.C.," said Dr. Suzuki. "It's clear that Canadians want action. And they want it right now."
The "If YOU were Prime Minister" tour visited 41 communities and attracted tens of thousands of Canadians to Dr. Suzuki's lectures. The public was also invited to sign ballots proclaiming their support for the environment and upload short web videos to YouTube.com. The David Suzuki Foundation received almost 30,000 ballots and e-mail submissions. In addition, more than 600 videos were uploaded to YouTube.
Five themes emerged from the public comments collected during the tour:
1. Build a sustainable, affordable public transportation system.
2. Introduce a carbon tax system to help Canada meet our Kyoto commitments.
3. Entrench the right to clean water, breathable air and a safe food supply in the Constitution.
4. Identify and protect the habitat that species-at-risk need to recover.
5. Institute a national program to penalize polluters and reward green initiatives.
These five themes translate into policy recommendations for federal leaders:
1. Develop a national sustainability plan.
2. End subsidies to polluting industries.
3. Set significant pollution reduction targets for large industries starting in 2008.
4. Meet or exceed California's vehicle emission targets by 2009.
5. Meet our Kyoto targets.
6. Protect Canada's species-at-risk.
"Canadians want this country to be a world leader in conservation again, and they know we can do it. They're tired of hearing politicians saying we can't," said Dr. Suzuki. "Places like Europe are showing that becoming more sustainable is great for the economy," said Dr. Suzuki. "We're already seeing the effects of global warming, and it's time our leaders get their act together with new ideas."
After the press conference Dr. Suzuki was scheduled to meet with Hon. John Baird, Minister of the Environment; Stephane Dion, Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition; Jack Layton, Leader of the New Democratic Party.
For more information: http://www.davidsuzuki.org/tour/report/default.asp
Media contact:Dominic Ali
Communications specialist
David Suzuki Foundation
Tel: 604-732-4228 x.246
dali@davidsuzuki.org-30-
