CANADA NEEDS A NATURE-FIRST ECONOMY! (Letter to PM Carney++)

In response to Wilderness Committee's STELLAR recent publication, Nature Can't Afford the Banker (Building A Nature-First Economy) written by campaigner Eric Reder, I used their special letter-writing tool here:
WildernessCommittee-BankOnNature to write the letter (below) sent to these recipients:

Mark Carney (Prime Minister), Nepean, Liberal

Julie Dabrusin (Minister of Environment and Climate Change)

Pierre Poilievre (Leader, Conservative Party of Canada)

Marc Dalton (MP), Maple Ridge, Conservative

Feel free to use that link to send your own personalized letter!  It's been shown that when govt officials receive 20 or more letters on a certain issue, they take notice - so don't underestimate the power of your actions:  they CAN make a difference.. [Here's another relevant W.C. article about PM Carney's disastrous new measures that double down on corporate profiteering and accelerated climate crisis while leaving Canadians - incl. Indigenous communities - IN THE DUST:  O&G expansion: NOT in the national interest!]

Here's my letter ~

As a born-and-bred BCer I am deeply dismayed by recent policy developments brought by PM Carney & the federal govt, characterized by glaring omissions of biodiversity loss (Species at Risk), climate & eco-based considerations.  Like a slap in the face, the message stings:  that future-forward nature care & stewardship are not important to Canada's federal govt - contrary to what we were led to believe.

With Earth's web of life literally staggering on the precipice of human-caused demise, these developments are blatantly myopic in the extreme.  As a major culprit, Canada cannot afford to ignore this global crisis any longer!

A gutting example here in Ridge of this backward slide on Climate sticks out like an open wound, just up the road:  a devastating clearcut of a vast swathe of forest along Dewdney Trunk Rd that's left this community reeling over the loss of that endemic ecosystem's assets, & dreading the resultant impacts of looming 'fire season' heat events.  Compounded by this year's record-low snowpack levels.

Such worrying scenarios, escalating across the nation, signal the untimeliness of your retreat on biodiversity & ecosystem protections - falsely in the name of economic growth & affordability.  As the [conservative] World Economic Forum's recently-published Annual Global Risks Report clearly states, the next decade's biggest economic threats are biodiversity loss & climate change!  This backs what Science has stressed for years: there is no economic argument for excluding nature in any govt decisions going forward.

While countless Canadians struggle to get by, PM Carney's nescient focus on costly "nation-building" projects that double down on last-century fossil-fuel reliance offers scant relief for most Canadians while highlighting a gaping disconnect between our climate-affected reality & the federal govt's "new" priorities - at the cost of rolling back hard-won eco-protections & Indigenous commitments!  This dangerous regression is nothing less than abrogation of duty by our public servants!

The costs of climate change are already driving up our bills, through climate-disaster clean-ups like the Hwy 3 washouts costing million$ from public taxes.  Yet your govt continues to pour money & energy into fossil-fuel-run projects that only promise to make the problems worse.

Firm fact:  we've already found proven ways to protect Canada's natural habitats, that reduce emissions & make life actually affordable in this cost-of-living crisis!  And they don't include building O&G-run 'data centers' requiring massive amounts of water (amid BC's ongoing drought emergency!!???)- besides being arms of USA's resource-grabbing hegemony of billionaire-owned Tech giants, with potential consequences that undermine our very democracy!  Canadians of all walks of life are unanimously rejecting A.I. data centres, with good reason:  forcing their egregious climate-wrecking effects across the country is a flagrant misuse of taxpayer's money - with NO tangible benefits!

Please, respect the values Canadians hold dear, including (overwhelmingly) climate action & nature protection - eg. by building/ upgrading homes with sustainable materials & renewable power; & funding our necessary transition to clean green industries +++ - i.e. much-needed measures that support society sustainably AND economically, while aligning with our emissions-reduction commitments.

Therefore I implore your govt to:

• Immediately remove the Impact Assessment exemption from the Build Canada Act;

• Grow both nature & climate budget expenditures to at least two per cent of GDP annually;

• Enforce the Species at Risk Act in all jurisdictions across Canada;

• Establish tests that rate cumulative & downstream emissions for every Major Project;

• Plan to meet our international emissions-reduction commitments;

• Strengthen Impacts Assessments & waste regulations for ALL mining projects in Canada.

Without thriving Nature's priceless benefits, "Canada Strong" will remain unattainable due to our over-reliance on (chemicalized/ outdated) Agricultural exports, Fossil-fuels, over-harvested forests, rejection of Science-advised solutions, & USA's unneeded obsolete imports - i.e. products of ramped-up pollution, contamination, ecocide, GMOs, overdevelopment ETC.  Canada CAN be strong - by countering those failed excesses with quality, locally-made, sustainable production values & future-forward TRANSITION into the clean, green future we CAN achieve. Because we've already proven so!

THAT is where our taxpayers' money should be invested, guaranteeing quality jobs/ re-training in renewables / organic regenerative agriculture / clean public transport / eco-tourism +++ sectors for a healthy economy that LASTS.

For too long, our policies have prioritized short-term GDP growth at the expense of ecological stability & social well-being.  Surely we've LEARNED BY NOW that merely perpetuating same-old last-century unlimited-growth economics will subvert our own success!!??

Leaving legacies of thriving Nature & circular economies represents REAL Science-led prosperity - as opposed to cowering in the face of oppressive billionaire-owned U.S. 'Big-Tech' grifts engendering nothing but more inequality & unaffordability.  We have a global duty to protect what we have left in our priceless biodiversity, forests, grasslands & waters - THOSE are sources of lasting, regenerating value that will build Canada's resilience.. now & in future.

It's time to UPGRADE:  respect Nature's directives instead of recklessly destroying what remains - eg. Canada's last 4% intact Lungs of the Earth - for financial gain of a wealthy/ foreign few.  That's like demolishing the Great Pyramids for the price of their stones:  NIHILISM THAT MAKES NO SENSE - economically or otherwise - at any time!  Today's govts are tasked with the responsibility of ensuring liveability of our world for future generations, & Canada's leadership must be no exception.

The interconnected crises of climate change, resource depletion & economic inequality demand that we transition toward a sustainable, healthy economic model. Our metrics for national success must evolve to prioritize resource conservation, community resilience, and long-term liveability over infinite expansion.

As my elected representatives, I urge you to support policies that move beyond traditional growth metrics & invest in a regenerative economy.  The alternative is unthinkable.

Please live up to your democratically-elected duties, as leaders serving Canadians' best interests!

Thank you very much.

[SaRah (Saz) ChesTeRman]

Before & after shots of that Maple Ridge clearcut: [Pix by me]

BEFORE:

 

                                 AFTER:

                                                                 

My Letter to BC Forestry Minister Ravi Parmar 'et al'

 

As someone who is deeply concerned about the dangerous direction of the BC Govt & MSM vis-a-vis the perilous state of BC's globally-rare rainforest ecosystems, I wrote the following letter in support of a (Govt-promised) Biodiversity & Ecosystem Health law - via the locally-based non-profit Neighbours United.  ( Be sure to add your name to their related petition at this link:  Add your name - Defend our home - Neighbours United )  Here's my letter: 

Dear Ministers Neill, Parmar and Premier Eby,

As a born & bred BCer I've been advocating for biodiversity & ecosystem protection for literally years, having learned firsthand the heart-sinking outcomes of govt. policies that blatantly ignore Science & give logging ops free rein to wipe out whole wildlife habitats with frighteningly efficient clearcutting, spraying with deadly chemicals & other last-century industrial norms that should be banned by now.

In Maple Ridge, the latest result of your govt's inaction sticks out like an open wound:  a giant clearcut adjacent to Dewdney Trunk Rd that's suddenly eliminated an entire stretch of forest - along with all its Climate-protecting/ wildlife-sustaining assets - just in time for summer (/'fire season').  Making the drive is now a torturous reminder of your govt's dereliction of duty that allowed this to happen ON YOUR WATCH..

So my worries for BC's future have only intensified, seeing the (predicted & well-warned) disastrous effects of govt's reckless doubling-down on egregious status-quo 'Talk-and-log' hypocrisy serving corporate profits over BCers' best interests AS ELECTED PUBLIC SERVANTS!

As such, you must be aware of the dangerous ongoing drought emergency across BC - directly caused & exacerbated by harmful ecocidal policies furthered by your govt.  And I shouldn't have to remind you of pre-election promises to apply the Old-growth Strategic Review report's recommendations for forestry reforms - marked 'URGENT' with good reason, i.e. per scientists' findings commissioned by your govt!  ON TOP OF good-faith election declarations to legislate Species At Risk protection within B.E.H.F. (Biodiversity & Ecosystem Health Framework)??

Reneging on these measures in favour of inaction is a huge betrayal by your govt. -  UNACCEPTABLE IN FACT!   It's as if we've been abandoned - denied decision-making rights+++ - by glib officials who openly pander to U.S./ multi-nat'l/ billionaire corporate lobbyists:  NOT what BC needs or wants!  No wonder your corrupt Conservative 'opponents' have gained undue support from gullible BCers who are understandably disappointed by your obvs. lack of caring or leadership.

The only way to make this right is to honour your intentions & prioritize B.C.'s globally-rare natural ecosystems, now & in future, by getting back to work on 'Just Transition':  finalizing legislation of BC's Species at Risk act, applying the OldGrowth Strategic Review recommendations & ratifying our urgently-needed B.E.H.F. laws = PROVEN SOLUTIONS for a thriving future.  Making deals with U.S. billionaires tied to Trump's resource-grabbing sweeps are NOT THE WAY TO MAKE CANADA STRONG!

I must also strongly suggest you put new rules in place that restrict the corrupting influence of corporate lobbyists on govt law-making, by limiting their unaccountable access to MPs' official duties.

Thank you very much,

[SaRah ChesTeRman]

Emergency in BC's Forests NOW

(Situation:  CRITICAL)

As warned in previous articles on this blog, BC's forests are in deep trouble now due to Govt's dereliction of duty in the cont'd clearcutting --i.e. mismanagement-- of the precious forest ecosystems that make 'Beautiful BC' & which support myriad species of [at-risk] biodiversity, fight climate change/ wildfires, store CO2, clean watersheds:  their lifesaving benefits are countless -- & threatened..

With wildfire season starting earlier, spreading faster & continuing to grow to record sizes throughout summer as never before, we need to ACT NOW & urge our govts to do their duty to protect these last globally-rare forests -- before they've all been logged for TP/woodchips.. (& emitted all their stored C02 into the atmosphere)

To understand what's at stake, quoted from the experts at https://sierraclub.ca:

"Our forests are our best ally in fighting climate change. Old-growth temperate rainforest has the largest carbon storage capacity per hectare on earth. Halting logging of endangered old-growth forest will help reduce BC’s carbon footprint and allow salmon, bears, wolves and many other species a fighting chance to adapt to a warming world." Learn more about forests and climate here.

Clearcut logging -- esp. of Old-Growth forests -- as well as dire SPRAYING OF GLYPHOSATE (= Bayer's Roundup) in forests throughout BC is the #1 cause of rapidly-spreading wildfires, as evidenced by the countless forest fires ripping thru cutblocks, endangering not just invaluable trees but numerous dependent flora & fauna, incl. Species At Risk that should be protected by law..  

We're fighting a war VS. big-industry timber corps (backed by OUR GOVT!) & SO FAR, LOSING.. Forests need us now.  So I'm compiling links to helpful allies defending BC forests, with ways you can join the fight to #SaveOldGrowth, #EndClearcutting & #StopTheSprayBC :

Good intentions aren’t enough to save the last old-growth - Sierra Club BC

Protect Nature - Greenpeace Canada

Tell BC: stop logging spotted owl habitat, permanently | Wilderness Committee

https://stopthespraybc.com/ 

(More will be added)

Following is my latest letter to Govt --1 of MANY-- customized via SierraClubBC's letterwriting tool here: 

https://sierraclub.bc.ca/tell-bc-forest-minister-to-protect-old-growth-forests-now/

Dear Minister Ralston, 

RE:  STOP SPRAYING BC FORESTS NOW! 

To add to the 2 letters I've recently sent to your govt. re. the perilous state of BC forests, I strongly urge you to STOP THE SPRAY PROGRAM YOUR GOVT. IS ABOUT TO IMPLEMENT -- TODAY -- which, along with clearcutting, jeopardizes our natural ecosystems & the many dependant species therein.

Are you aware the destructive spraying of glyphosate (a toxic carcinogen) increases wildfire risks & kills off sensitive flora & fauna that help protect our forests -- & our communities -- against Climate change, pollution, water contamination, wildfires ETC?

The triple whammy of development, industrial logging & severe climate impacts means intact forests -- & esp. Old-growth carbon sinks -- are shrinking faster than ever, while ecological recovery of industrially degraded landscapes is failing.

Drenching these struggling natural biospheres with harmful chemicals that kill off all but the species pegged for harvest by logging co's -- eg. Lodgepole pine -- turns cutblocks into drought-prone wastelands & tinder fuel for spreading fires, devoid of the essential lifeforms found in healthy forests (incl. C02-absorbing ferns & fungi, & fire-resistent deciduous native trees like alder & birch). 

With far too many BC forests felled & sprayed this way by logging co's focused solely on max profits (& blind to the resultant ill effects on harvest trees themselves, apart from the wholesale destruction of beneficial wilderness habitats), vast areas of BC's once-thriving natural landscapes are thus degraded & vulnerable to further harms. 

Global heating is putting the health & safety of communities in danger, & clearcut logging -- esp. of old-growth forests -- is making things much worse, increasing instances of flooding, erosion, fires & landslides.  Adding toxic chemicals exacerbates the number & size of these disasters.

David Eby promised to "accelerate" action on old growth when he became Premier in 2022 -- but to this day, NONE OF THE PANEL'S 14 RECOMMENDATIONS HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTED, & AT-RISK OLD-GROWTH FORESTS CONTINUE TO BE DESTROYED AT AN ALARMING RATE!!

You must act quickly to save our remaining intact forests, as they're our best hope for maintaining natural carbon sinks, reducing climate impacts & supporting the wildlife species that depend on healthy ecosystems for their survival.

I implore you to STOP THE SPRAYING OF BC'S FORESTS TODAY.  Not doing so violates Canada's constitution, which outlines forest stewardship as a key responsibility.  Stop allowing industrial practices to dictate your inaction on the Climate crisis, which is 'the Challenge of our Time' & the biggest threat to our thriving future..

It's your govt.'s responsibility to support the health & safety of communities.  Please do your job, by BANNING THE SPRAY immediately -- before the situation becomes even more untenable!

Thank you very much, 

Sarah (Saz) Chesterman

CC: Premier David Eby; Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, George Heyman; Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, Nathan Cullen; and my local MLA. 

*Readers, I know it's hard to admit that Climate change is real & caused by us, & that the crisis has only gotten worse due to Big-Industry's outsize influence over our corrupt leaders.  Thanks for caring -- please add your voice to as many forest-saving campaigns as you can, & share widely with your networks!  With enough people-power, we can change the outlook for endangered biodiversity & irreplaceable forests in BC.  But it's urgent -- Govt needs to know that we won'T let our remaining forests be decimated by greedy, profiteering & polluting co's that DONT BENEFIT US AT ALL:  their giant machines do most of the work & employ as few workers as poss while destroying irreplaceable wilderness faster & more thoroughly than ever B4.. But WE NEED OUR FORESTS MORE URGENTLY THAN EVER B4!!

🫒💚🐾

PS. VOTE GREENS in upcoming elections:  the onLy Cdn party that cares about our future, & works for US not for polluting megacorps -- see their website here:  https://www.bcgreens.ca/ 🌿 

#1 ECO-ACTION: BAN CLEARCUT LOGGING & PROTECT FORESTS!

Me @ Hayward Lake park, by Frank V.

Here's a letter to Govt. I customized thru Sierra Club BC - & encourage you to write your own, at this link;

https://t.co/JPeTvZWs7U

Dear Minister Conroy, 

RE:  PROTECT OUR PRECIOUS FORESTS NOW!

Your govt's announced intentions to protect BC's old-growth forests by deferring logging contracts are a step in the right direction, but recent events have shown we need lasting changes on the ground today, not tomorrow. 

The climate crisis is jeopardizing the health & safety of BC's communities -- & clearcut logging is further increasing the likelihood & severity of droughts, erosion, fires, floods & landslides.  

Yet your govt can effectively mitigate & prevent these catastrophes before the crisis worsens by protecting endangered old-growth forests, restoring healthy ecosystems & reforming forest management.

Without immediate action, not enough old-growth forests will be left to sustain the web of life, support a diverse economy & limit the climate risks communities across B.C. are facing right now. 

As 1 of millions of affected citizens, I demand that you:  

- Do your sworn duty & apply the [sizeable] federal grant $$ to its intended purpose of enacting & enforcing BC's long-overdue Species At Risk law, to support threatened wildlife species & their habitats.

- Immediately commit to adequate funding for forestry workers & Indigenous Nations to address the impacts of logging deferrals, as well as conservation financing for effective Science-based solutions.

- Reform B.C. forestry practices & climate adaptation strategies with actual LAWS that PROTECT healthy forest/watershed ecosystems & REDUCE risks of catastrophic climate impacts -- including BANNING harmful clearcutting & spraying of our forests!  

- Expedite real engagement with [rightful hereditary] Indigenous decision-makers to implement all recommendations of the Old Growth Strategic Review, in line with the B.C. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. 

Your govt's woeful inaction on these urgent measures defies all logic.  In fact, it's inexcusable that few intact old-growth forests remain standing across BC — & worse, that most are slated to be logged despite clear evidence that these forests are KEY DEFENSES against impacts of the EMERGENCY in our midst.  

These deadly impacts promise only to increase in magnitude unless we transition to Nature-restoring sustainability in all sectors now.  Time is running out.

Science says so.  & Science doesn't lie.

I implore you to do the right thing NOW to save our precious forests -- 'Lungs of the Earth' -- & thereby ensure the health & safety of communities across BC.

Sincerely, 

[your name will go here]

[your email address will go here], [your location will go here]

CC: Premier David Eby; Minister of State for Lands and Natural Resource Operations, Nathan Cullen; Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, George Heyman; and my local MLA.

ReViLing TMX's Risky Re-Up

I did - & you can too, thru Dogwood at this link:

 https://dogwoodbc.ca/petitions/pipelines-not-essential/

(It's important we communicate with Govt. any way we can - calling, letters etc. - because it has an impact.. esp. when you join organizations that are direct-dialled to their offices, like Dogwood & Stand.Earth & many other good people making a difference to bring about a better future for everyone!)

It's also recommended you add your own comments, for extra impact!  Here are mine added to this letter expressing dismay at govt's ill-timed & misguided reopening of COVID-rife work camps in BC:

I'm hugely disappointed in our govts - provincial & federal - for their utter hypocrisy in favouring polluting corporate interests over Canadians' health & wellbeing.  COVID-19 has only heighTened this dangerous disconnect between policy & practice, as leaders like yourself continue to endanger our communities by advancing the policies & projects proven to exacerbate catastrophic climate change/ eco-harms:  i.e. the VERY ACTIVITIES YOUR GOVT. URGENTLY NEEDS TO CURTAIL!!?

Trans Mountain - along with LNG Canada & Old-growth logging - rates among our WORST EVER eco-disasters-in-the-making, guaranteed to drive our native Orcas to extinction & our GHGs through the roof.  Advancing construction of this deadly project - AGAINST key climate/ environmental/ public concerns - threatens us ALL..

Building new pipelines at this stage - i.e. the end of the polluting 'oil era' - cannot possibly be classified as an 'essential service'(!!?)  Doing so makes a mockery of our climate goals & any COVID-related public health measures:  SHAME!

[K guess what?  THIS  is the comment added to that petition.. NOT the comment I submitted to the --yes!!?-- BC Govt in response to their call for public comment on their "Reconsideration" "report" -- which is official, so i upped the ante.. then my phone died & I thought I hadn't copied it.. so the post just after THIS one is my final submission - totally rewritten - as it turns out, I hadn'T properly contained the topic to their specifics --which my final comment DID, after reading all their bs palaver - so why shouldn't MY input be just as long?.. Anyway it all panned out, as they say..]

(Hopefully they'll include it, attached links & all, which are jusT as relevant to my words.. I'll add em when I have a sec to spare ok??  Cheers!)

TMX = ECO-RUIN eXposed..

        LeTTeR to GoVT

             (+ RepLies!)

To whit, here is my most recent letter vigorously outlining my opposition to building TMX -- followed by the personal response i received from one of the government recipients -- & ending with my response to thaT reply..

[All i can say is, MP Bardish Chagger's email confirmed my worst fears - that BigOil lobbyists have co-opted the favour of our public servants (GOVT!) to the point of bLinding them with historic (status quo) economic arguments that fail to take into account the human-caused 'climate crisis' (/eco-ruin) that demands global action & puts most existing resource-based industries into their own self-perpetuating category of (yes) OBSOLESCENCE.  Either global/ govt./industry leaders apply climate science - which proves global-wide deadly warming exacerbated by the cumulative GHGs of human-made resource development/ land use - & EVOLVE, i.e. ensure sustainability well into the future by transitioning a.s.a.p. away from harmful deforestation & fossil-fuel extraction/use into regenerative eco-management & renewable energy sources in aLL existing sectors.. OR we are guilty of exacerbating the extinction of all lifeforms already under way..

Accountability & responsible science-based practices must be legislated - rigorously enforced, noT optional - in order to reclaim a (thriving) future destiny for EVERYONE..

[ps. NOONE is suggesting taking away your beloved gas-powered trucks or shutting off your home's heating or reverting to horse-&-buggy transport -- but merely switching our power sources to non-polluting + non-GHG-emitting RENEWABLE energy.. ENDING DEFORESTATION & GOING SUSTAINABLE!  What's wrong with that?  You don'T want your kids to have a thriving future sans #EXTINCTION staring them in the face?  Get off your ignorance & join environmentalists & global populations demanding govts. QUIT subsidizing harmful climate change via BigOil/ billionaire polluters!!]

-----Original Message-----

Subject: Protect the climate: Stop pipelines.

Dear Ministers,

I am writing today as I feel strongly compelled to do the right thing & influence your office's decision vis-à-vis the TMX pipeline expansion project.  To ignore the extensive litany of drawbacks, eco-damage, exacerbation of already-dire degradation of coastal health/welfare and --possibly worst of all-- the certain extinction outcome for endangered wildlife species (to name just some of this project's assessed effects reported by your Energy Board), to allow this guaranteed disaster to proceed regardless would amount to a reckless disservice to Canadians, who count on your Govt. to protect our best interests and those of future generations:  your kids AND ours..

Canada is @ a terrifying crossroads -- our families' futures are in your hands.  Many of us fear the relentless lobbying/ pressure by polluting oil corps on a Govt. that has proven woefully weak in their moneyed midst, resulting in ongoing INACTION --i.e. NO REAL REMEDIES to this [CUMULATIVE] climate crisis!!?   How much longer can our Govt. reps sit complacently favouring fossil-fuel damages/risks, rising GHGs & status-quo stasis over desperately-needed legislation & proper initiatives to GO SUSTAINABLE (even in the throes of what is now officially a climate emergency)?

Aren't you ashamed of such disgraceful ineptitude by our Govt. 'leaders', having led us remorselessly to this tragic point?  We have just 11 years to cut our climate pollution BY HALF to avoid a climate catastrophe, according to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report released last fall.. Canada’s climate is warming twice as fast as the global average, according to an Environment and Climate Change Canada report released last month.. Emissions from the oil sands are as much as 64% higher than oil companies have been telling us.. And Alberta just elected a Govt. whose platform openly rejected all notions of climate leadership, thus proving total irresponsible lack of integrity with no plans to cap tar sands' emissions..

We CANNOT keep making the same mistakes:  our Govt. must TAKE ACTION --NOW-- NOT JUST BY DECLARING A CLIMATE EMERGENCY BUT BY ACTING ON IT!  This is the only decision that makes sense to Canadians -- not because it's an option but because it's a necessity in an emergency.. People's livelihoods are at stake --fossil fuels have long been known as the main culprit-- and our Govt. must lead us into a thriving future by transitioning away from broken, harmful --OLD-- industries and implementing the science-based solutions such as renewable energy, biothermal plants, electric cars.. WE MUST DIVEST FROM FOSSIL FUELS --WHICH MEANS NO NEW OIL/GAS PROJECTS UNDERMINING ALL PRETENSE OF PROGRESS!?  If this is not patently obvious, then obviously polluters --the BigOil lobbyers-- have won over an ignorant, irresponsible Govt... and we Canadians need to change leadership for competent, forward-looking & responsible leaders who will DO THE RIGHT THING FOR CANADIANS AND VOTE IN THE GREEN PARTY.  We cannot afford to wait for Extinction to take over before we enact the changes we need to go sustainable!?  Only two things will rebuild your Govt.'s legitimacy on climate change:

1. Declare a climate emergency
2. Halt all new and proposed oil and gas projects, including the Trans Mountain pipeline/ TMX pipeline expansion project.

The expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline would increase shipments of oil by 590,000 barrels a day. That’s an additional 86 million tonnes of downstream greenhouse gas emissions every year. If this figure is new to you, it may be because in February, the National Energy Board refused to study the full life-cycle global warming effects of the pipeline.  86 megatonnes of greenhouse gas emissions is the equivalent of an additional 13 million cars on the road, or 75 million acres of forest loss. And certain extinction of the west coast orca whales, an iconic native wildlife species..

In this important election year, you must do the right thing by declaring a climate emergency and halting the Trans Mountain (TMX) pipeline expansion, along with all new and proposed fossil fuel projects. It’s the only way to re-establish your government’s --CANADA'S-- legacy/ legitimacy..


Thank you,

Sarah Chesterman

From: Bardish.Chagger@parl.gc.ca
Sent: July 30, 2019 8:33 AM

Subject: RE: Protect the climate: Stop pipelines.

Dear Ms. Chesterman,
Thank you for taking the time to write to me and to share your position. I appreciate hearing from constituents as it allows me to better represent all voices. Your position has been noted. Would you please provide your complete address for our records?
We committed to making real change happen in this country and to grow the middle class. We also committed to building a real plan to protect our environment and fight climate change. We have been clear from day one, the environment and the economy must go together. We believe these goals are not irreconcilable; rather, they are complementary.
TMX solves a core economic challenge facing our country and will support the transition.
In the 21st century, you need to have a plan for the environment, and a plan for the economy. We passed a government motion declaring a climate emergency. We have spent the last four years doing more for our environment than any other government in Canadians history. It is no longer free to pollute in Canada. At the same time, by investing in Canadians, we have created over one million new jobs, lifted 825,000 people out of poverty, and have the lowest unemployment rate on record.
I understand you’re disappointed with the decision to expand our resources to new markets. Currently, 99% of our conventional energy resources are sold to one market – the United States – at a large discount. We need to diversify our markets in order to get a fair price for the products we sell. It does not make environmental or economic sense to sell any resource at a discount. Instead, we will use the extra earnings to fund a clean energy transition.
As the Prime Minister publicly stated, every dollar the federal government earns from this project will be invested to help fund things like electrification projects, investments in renewable resources, and efforts to transition Indigenous communities off diesel-power. Additional corporate tax revenue alone could be around $500 million per year once the project is up and running.
In order to transport our resources across the country, we know that pipelines are much safer than shipping them by rail. By moving forward with TMX, we are creating jobs, diversifying markets, accelerating our clean energy transition, and opening new avenues for Indigenous economic prosperity.
According to former Supreme Court Justice Frank Lacobucci, who was brought in to oversee the consultation process, he said, “The Crown has remedied the defects in consultation identified by the Federal Court of Appeal and has meaningfully consulted with potentially-affected Indigenous groups.”
This decision was based on the confidence that:
-strong environmental protections are in place, and that the effects of the project can be mitigated through conditions and recommendations outlined by the National Energy Board (NEB), as well as measures including the historic $1.5 billion Oceans Protection Plan and the national climate plan.
-consultations with Indigenous peoples involved meaningful, two-way dialogue, which fulfilled the legal duty to consult and helped identify new accommodation measures and conditions to appropriately address concerns expressed by Indigenous communities.
I too am committed to cleaner future for our kids and grandkids and a greener economy that supports that future. I really do believe we can do both, in a way that it is sustainable. We just cannot afford to lose anymore inches. I would like to reassure you that I will do everything I can to ensure that does not happen. We have a lot more work to do and I am committed to helping to do it.

Sincerely,

Bardish
Office of the Hon. Bardish Chagger
Member of Parliament for Waterloo
360-100 Regina Street South
Waterloo, ON N2J 4P9
519.746.1573

My Reply:_____________________________________
From: Sarah Chesterman
Sent: Aug 14, 2019 8:33 AM

Dear Bardish,

Thank you for responding to my heartfelt letter with such an illuminating explanation of your government’s position on this crucial issue, which affords me unprecedented insight into the wilful refusal of Canada’s elected politicians to be guided/informed by our country’s most forward-thinking experts in the fields of science pertaining to the climate emergency which the Prime Minister recently announced is already upon us..

You have no idea how discouraging it is to find that, beyond this recent public announcement thereof, our own governing bodies possess SCANT EXPERTISE IN DEALING EFFECTIVELY WITH THE GLOBAL CLIMATE CRISIS – I.E. LITTLE ACTUAL KNOWLEDGE of what exactly is entailed or meant by this very serious event known as CLIMATE EMERGENCY – I.E. DESPITE ITS URGENCY, THERE HAS BEEN NO EFFORT ON THE PART OF OUR POLITICAL REPRESENTATIVES TO PROPERLY DEFINE ITS CAUSES, IMPLICATIONS, REASONS ETC. IN RELATION TO – OR TO ENGAGE WITH-- ADVANCED SCIENCE ON THIS KEY ISSUE!?  YET THE PUBLIC IS EXPECTED TO TRUST IN ITS GOVERNMENT’S INTEGRITY IN TACKLING SAID EMERGENCY-!?

Given our country’s historic lack of public consultation/transparency affecting governance from the time of confederation, to the point that our basic K-12 schooling failed to inform us Canadians about the real truths about Canada’s early foundations – eg. such influential (yet untaught) events as indigenous disempowerment/ reservation/ treatment of natives at the time of first contact!  I myself have learned these shameful facts only SINCE –I.E. AFTER—MY SCHOOLED EDUCATION (as one of the apparent few interested enough to research such critical information).. And now, at this most critical juncture that is now an EMERGENCY THANKS TO THE INACTION OF GOVERNMENTS PAST, your government has clearly done Canadians YET ANOTHER DISSERVICE by withholding the undeniable science dominating the issue of climate change & WHAT IS AT STAKE FOR ALL CANADIANS – FOR THE PAST 30 YEARS, MINIMUM~!

Without evidence of our leaders’ informed understanding of the global CLIMATE CRISIS & its many implications, your assurances/ measures/ plans purported to ‘mitigate’ its worst effects & pacify your [complacent, docile] public FAIL AT THE OUTSET TO PROVE THAT YOUR GOVERNMENT IS UP TO THE TASK OF ANSWERING THE MOST BASIC FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ‘CLIMATE EMERGENCY’ -- let alone tackle the very real consequences of its worst effects..

For starters, the points in your letter HAVE NOT TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT MY VERY REAL –AND VALID—CONCERNS & FACTS, AS EXPRESSED IN MY LETTER..  I.E. you fail to address the most prominent dangers inherent in the climate emergency that’s upon us, which are the SAME DANGERS INHERENT & MOST PROMINENTLY PRODUCED BY THE TMX PROJECT (I.E. Increased emissions/ fossil-fuel extraction, increased ecosystem destruction, wildlife extinction etc...)  Which only confirms, with even greater urgency, the relevancy of those fears –EG. THE ITEMIZED INCREASES OF DANGEROUS EMISSIONS WHICH WOULD DIRECTLY ARISE FROM THE BUILDING OF THE TMX DISASTER—SINCE THIS TMX PLANNED PROJECT WILL CLEARLY EXACERBATE THE MOST PRESSING ELEMENTS DRIVING CLIMATE CHANGE!  
Naturally, this points to the UTTER INADEQUACY OF ALL THAT YOUR LETTER CONTAINS –OF ALL DECISIONS & MEASURES OF YOUR GOVERNMENT’S ATTEMPT TO ‘DEAL WITH’ THE CLIMATE EMERGENCY, WHEN THEY ARE THE POLAR OPPOSITE OF WHAT IS REQUIRED TO MITIGATE THESE DANGERS AND THUS GUARANTEE OUR COUNTRY’S WOEFUL INADEQUACY TO PROTECT CANADIANS’ BEST INTERESTS THEREIN.

If you re-read my letter properly, taking in the exact same facts that must have been available to your government from the outset on which the PM would have based his decision to announce the climate emergency to Canada, you will understand why your letter fails in every respect to reassure me of your abilities & sincerity in rising to the pressing occasion with any integrity..

[Naturally, I am terrified at the prospect of your government’s leadership stumbling ineptly into the emergency & fueling its very fires to the inevitable disastrous outcome..]

In disgust & fear,

SARAH CHESTERMAN