The time for change is now
I was invited by the premier of Prince Edward Island to be part of a team of 28 Islanders from various backgrounds and organizations to establish a plan for recovery and growth potential for the province over the next one, two, five and 10 years following our social and economic lockdown during “The COVID.”
The premier said, "COVID19 has impacted all Islanders — our entire well-being has been threatened ... We need to chart a clear path forward, one that does not necessarily take us back to our pre-COVID normal.”
The Council for Recovery and Growth is tasked with engaging Islanders and organizations in creating a plan to harness growth and build opportunity. We recently held our first meeting.
The invitation was opportune, as I am a member of a group of 50 scholars from universities across the country known as Sustainable Canada Dialogues that is calling on governments to spring Canada forward with innovation and investment to make our society inclusive, just, climate-resilient and economically strong.
I invite you to visit our website and browse our good work at www.sustainablecanadadialogues.ca which is available in both English and French languages.
COVID-19 has shown
Canadians are resilient, socially conscious and willing to tolerate short-term pain for long-term societal good. As a group of scholars, we propose a few key principles to guide investments that can future-proof our economies against climate catastrophe. Investments should link job creation and green infrastructure. They should include funding for both initial capital and long-term operations. COVID-19 has acutely highlighted that social inequalities threaten Canada’s resilience. Thus, investments should include principles of equity, diversity and inclusion and be consistent with Indigenous rights. Finally, to support an evidence-based approach, pilot projects, experimentation, rigorous testing and evaluation should be built into all major post-COVID investments.
Measures adopted to fight the coronavirus are opening new investment opportunities serving health and environmental goals. Moving people and goods across the landscape is one of Canada’s highest sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Rethinking delivery systems could springboard off the explosion of home delivery. Small-truck delivery fleets are well-suited to electrification; consolidating deliveries, coordinating logistics, improving the filling rates of trucks and offering flexible delivery hours could help reduce car dependency.
Some cities have widened sidewalks and pedestrianized streets to facilitate social distancing.
The recovery is thus a great time to fund complete streets and roads with wide sidewalks, green infrastructure and bicycle lanes.
This will favour active transportation in urban, peri-urban and rural Canada where such infrastructure is largely absent. Ensuring universal access to high-speed internet is also a necessity in a world that demands working from home.
These words are not my own but the condensed distillation of 50 scholars discussing and debating these opportunities online over what seems like a lifetime of isolation. Tomorrow, we will discuss opportunities for “no regrets” investments. These are investments that are beneficial even in the absence of climate change.