LEADERS MUST THINK, ACT GREEN

Areport released this month by the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy — entitled Climate Change: The policy options and implications for Saskatchewan — should be required reading for all candidates seeking the leadership of the two major political parties in Saskatchewan.

One of the biggest issues facing those in government, and the population as a whole, is how to tackle reducing our collective carbon footprint.

“If we’re going to be serious about addressing climate change in the way that the federal government has set out … then there is no one policy solution to this,” said Dale Eisler, coauthor and senior policy fellow. “It’s going to take a number of different approaches.”

Eisler correctly points out that too often this has turned into an issue of “yes or no” regarding a carbon tax. This is an incredibly complex issue, and the way to address it will also be convoluted.

The world is watching to see how various jurisdictions are dealing with environmental issues, including Saskatchewan. We want a reputation as an innovative place to do business that also displays an environmental conscience. Of course, as the evidence for climate change mounts, tackling this problem is simply the right thing to do for future generations.

Of course, the federal government is also expecting changes. As a Postmedia Saskatchewan story pointed out this week, the federal government has committed to a 30 per cent reduction in GHG emissions from 2005 levels by 2020. In October 2016, Prime Minister Trudeau announced that provinces and territories must implement a direct tax on carbon emissions or adopt a cap-and-trade system by 2018.

As members of the NDP and Saskatchewan parties consider who will lead them into the post-Wall political arena, they must look to the candidate who has some good — and varied — ideas on the environmental front.