Grit candidates graded on environment

The Ecology Action Centre is satisfied with only one of the provincial Liberal Party leadership contenders' answers to their 17-question survey on critical environmental issues facing Nova Scotia.

The advocacy group surveyed the three candidates earlier this month but said in a news release issued Friday that only Iain Rankin finished the survey with a “thorough and specific overview of his positions and how he would implement them.”

Randy Delorey and Labi Kousoulis are also in the running to replace Stephen Mcneil as Liberal leader and provincial premier.

The EAC'S news release said their responses lack clarity and decisiveness.

“The lack of robust commitments to the environment by two of the Liberal Party leadership candidates is not acceptable,” Maggy Burns, the EAC'S executive director, said in the release.

“The public expects and deserves specifics on critical issues affecting our province.

“This was an open book exam. These are not new issues. Many of the answers are simply to follow through on existing environmental commitments made by the current Liberal government.”

But the environmental organization did dole out kudos for the commitment by all three candidates to fully implementing the Lahey forestry report's 45 recommendations.

The EAC said Kousoulis submitted a letter outlining his environmental policy positions on a variety of topics, which they described as “a decidedly mixed bag with some good commitments for the environment and some that may be well intentioned but off the mark.”

The EAC was also disappointed with Delorey's submitted letter, which referenced his principles in broad strokes, its release said.

The survey and responses are summarized on the EAC'S website.