CONSISTENT GREEN FOCUS

Re: “Wasteful construction practices must go” (Oct. 15 opinion piece).

I am writing to support the accelerated adoption of the top three tiers of the current National Building Code 2020 with the corresponding training for the construction industry.

The Nova Scotia government’s Environmental Goals and Climate Change Reduction Act (EGCCRA), passed in October 2021, recognizes the climate emergency. Every decision at every level of government should be made through the lens of the climate emergency. The pace of action must increase or we will never meet our climate goals and our opportunity to mitigate the effects of climate change will increasingly lessen, condemning our children and grandchildren to an uncertain and difficult future.

In the rush to build affordable housing, I am concerned that corners will be cut, resulting in a glut of housing that will be of poor quality and need expensive retrofits down the road. This is inconsistent with “sustainable development,” which is defined in the EGCCRA as “development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

The Houston government has already indicated that it will cut corners by introducing legislation to circumvent HRM’S planning policies, and it supports the destruction of a wetland (Eisner Cove), a valuable carbon sink, by approving the building of a causeway through it.

We need urgent action, but it needs to be consistent with a greener future.

Brenda Ryan, Halifax