The following was sent to member of Parliament John Weston and copied to Coast Reporter.
At your recent Town Hall Meeting in Sechelt (Dec. 12) I asked how you could refer to your government's actions on climate change as "progressive" and "admirable" given the condemnation our country has received on the international stage. I asked why other nations expected more of Canada, but that our own government did not. I would like to express my concerns with the response you gave me.
You responded that Canada's actions towards mitigating climate change are significantly greater than those of other countries - you mentioned China and Korea in particular. While I concur that we may be doing more than some nations, I feel strongly that not being the worst is certainly not something to be proud of. Comparing Canada's actions on climate change to those of a nation with an environmental record as appalling as China's is shameful.
You added that if climate change were the only issue that Canadians cared to act on, we could indeed do better, but that other issues (such as jobs and drug addiction) hindered us. Certainly, these issues are important, but we should remember that climate change will only make other issues more challenging to deal with.
The stability of the economy, just like the health of us humans, depends on having a healthy planet to thrive on. Investing in a stable climate does not equal ignoring other issues - rather, we should mitigate climate change to prevent other issues from becoming more dire.
I encourage you to use your role in Canada's government to achieve action on climate change that is truly progressive and admirable.
Sheena Careless
Gibsons
