Canada's NDP

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June 4th, 2021

NDP Statement on World Environment Day

Jagmeet Singh Leader of Canada's NDP made the following statement:

“On behalf of all New Democrats, I want to wish you a happy World Environment Day. Canadians from coast-to-coast-to-coast want the federal government to do its part to prevent, stop and reverse the harm done to our ecosystems and climate.
Instead of action on conservation and protection, Canadians have gotten broken promises from the Liberal government. During the last election, the Liberals said they’d plant 1 billion trees but, years later, they haven’t even started. And the Liberals keep failing to meet the weak targets they set for land conservation or emission reductions.
Canadians are counting on elected leaders to do better.
New Democrats have committed to protect 30 per cent of our land, freshwater, and oceans by 2030 and back those protections with funding and enforcement. We’ll also work with other levels of government to develop a system of urban national parks – and a national approach to tree-planting using responsible reforestation to help lower our carbon footprint. That means people all over the country will be able to enjoy green spaces while helping reduce the effects of the climate crisis.
We understand that Indigenous peoples have to be partners in any plan to preserve our ecosystems and stop the harm that has already been done. That’s why we’ll expand the Indigenous Guardians Program, invest in Indigenous-led science, and support the creation of Indigenous-managed protected areas – and make sure that species recovery efforts respect Indigenous rights and embrace traditional knowledge to increase biodiversity.
Its important to protect and conserve the ecosystems we all rely on to produce our food, raise our children and help our communities thrive. But Canadians know we need bolder, more meaningful action on the climate crisis from the government.
Unfortunately, successive Conservative and Liberal governments failed to set emission reduction targets that were ambitious enough to meet our international agreements, and Canadians are paying the price for this inaction.
New Democrats pushed the Liberal government to include more accountability on their emissions targets in their new bill so Canadians can trust that we’re making the progress needed to tackle the climate crisis. It’s not enough for the government to agree with climate scientists, they must actually follow through on what the experts are telling us.
Together, we can make the necessary changes to take care of our environment for years to come.”