Leaders turn campaign toward the environment

NDP, Green party, Liberals propose green initiatives

NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair is promising to inject a “modest” $9 million into natural-disaster prevention and relief as western Canada reels from one of its worst wildfire seasons on record.

Mulcair campaigned Tuesday in British Columbia, where days ago a raging blaze tore through the province’s interior, destroying dozens of homes and forcing hundreds to flee at a moment’s notice.

During a stop on Vancouver Island, Mulcair committed to restoring $7 million in annual funding to a Joint Emergency Preparedness Program to bolster training and equipment against natural disasters.

“An NDP government will assist provinces to keep Canadians safe from fires and floods as the effects of climate change worsen,” Mulcair said.

The party aims to pick up the majority of seats on Vancouver Island, where MP retirements and rejigged riding lines have left many of the seven ridings as dead-heat races between the Tories and the NDP.

The party is hoping to ward off an upset in Victoria, where well-known former CBC Radio host Jo-Ann Roberts is running for the Greens. The Green party finished a strong runner-up in the riding during the 2011 election. The Green party held two seats at dissolution, one belonging to Bruce Hyer, who was elected as a New Democrat in northern Ontario but crossed the floor.

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, who is expected to hold onto her seat in Saanich—Gulf Islands, was in Victoria on Tuesday, advocating for stronger environmental-assessment laws.

The party also wants a legislated ban on supertankers on British Co- lumbia’s coast and a moratorium on drilling for oil and gas in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, May said during a news conference.

The Green party advocates embedding the right to a healthy environment in the Constitution as well as development of a national energy plan with a strong commitment to tackling climate change.

The Greens also want to repeal the government’s omnibus security bill, which they say makes it easier for authorities to spy on environmental protesters. The RCMP should receive scientific briefings to ensure police understand the legitimate concerns of people who want action to reduce climate change through less reliance on fossil fuels, the party proposes.

Meanwhile, on a campaign swing through northern Ontario on Tuesday, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau used a stop at a Laurentian University research institute to underscore a commitment to sustainable growth.

He said a Liberal government would invest $200 million a year to develop clean technologies in forestry, fisheries, mining, energy and farming. This will not only boost economic growth, he said, but will also meet environmental challenges.

“The environment and the economy go together like paddles and canoes,” he said. “You just can’t get to where you’re going unless you have both of them together.”

Trudeau said it’s time to bring together the private sector, provincial and territorial governments and research institutions to invest in sustainable growth.

In addition to the $200 million, there would be extra funding to help firms market their clean-technology products, he added.

“We’ll invest $100 million more per year in organizations that have been successful at supporting the emergence of clean technology firms in Canada,” Trudeau said.