The best political advice I’ve ever received came from former prime minister Jean Chrétien. He told me, “Canadians are reasonable — so be reasonable.”
In the three and a half years I’ve served as minister of environment and climate change, I’ve taken that advice to heart. Being reasonable, I’ve learned, means not just having good policies — but making sure those policies put people first.
In that spirit, we spent the better part of 2016 listening to Canadians from coast to coast to coast, and working together with provinces, territories and Indigenous leaders to chart an ambitious, yet practical, course toward a cleaner future.
The end result was Canada’s Clean Growth and Climate Change plan: a plan developed with Canadians, by Canadians.
Today, that plan will make our communities healthier and more resilient to extreme weather, flooding, fires and droughts. It’s already making our industries, homes and businesses cleaner and more efficient. Canada’s climate plan works alongside other steps our government is taking to protect nature, keep plastic pollution out of our lakes, rivers and oceans, and reduce pollution — all while creating new jobs for the middle class, and reducing the cost of living.
In short, it’s a plan for stronger communities today, and a future in which our kids and grandkids will prosper.
If that sounds overly optimistic, let me be clear: working toward anything less would be unreasonable, given the scope of the challenges — and the opportunities — climate change represents.
Last month, federal scientists reported that Canada’s climate is changing twice as fast as the global average, three times faster in the North. Globally, we have a little over a decade to drastically cut pollution to avoid locking in catastrophic warming.
Meanwhile, demand for cleaner economic growth is opening up tens of trillions of dollars of opportunity around the world — giving Canadian developers of clean solutions access to new markets and creating good jobs for Canada’s middle class.
If you don’t have a plan for the environment, you don’t have a plan for the economy.
Canada’s climate plan maps out solutions for every sector, backed by detailed policies and funding commitments. It’s both aspirational and achievable, and it puts the country on track to meet our international commitments for 2030.
Many of the strongest measures in that plan are just now coming into effect — such as historic investments in rapid transit, cleaner vehicles and more efficient buildings. Those measures include expanding renewable energy and phasing out coal power, while providing support for affected workers and dedicated transition funding for coal communities.
Thanks to Canada’s climate plan, it’s no longer free to pollute anywhere in Canada. Last week, a precedent-setting decision by the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal found that putting a price on carbon pollution is not only constitutional, it is an effective and essential part of any serious response to climate change. In provinces where the federal price applies, most households will get back more than they pay — in fact, people are already collecting their Climate Action Incentive rebates.
These measures are part of our government’s comprehensive strategy to reduce the cost of living and ensure that every Canadian can succeed. By raising taxes on the 1 per cent while cutting taxes for the middle class and small businesses, creating 900,000 jobs with Canadians, and supporting families through the Canada Child Benefit and lifting 300,000 children out of poverty, we’re keeping people at the heart of our governments’ policies.
Despite this progress, we can — and must — do more. Yet not all politicians share that conviction.
On one side, Andrew Scheer and his Conservative pals downplay the threats of climate change and deceive Canadians about the benefits of taking action. Given the chance, they would make it free to pollute again and undo all the hard-won progress we’ve made together. Instead of building a better future for the next generation, they defend entrenched interests that profit from the status quo. They would rather waste their time and millions of taxpayer dollars on court battles and other stunts than come up with a credible plan for the most pressing environmental and economic challenge of our time.
Their short-sightedness would set Canada back for decades, and leave our kids and grandkids to pick up the tab.
Other parties expect an economywide transition to happen overnight, without a realistic and inclusive plan to create new jobs and keep workers and communities from being left behind.
So while we welcome the emerging conversation about how America’s Green New Deal could inspire further ambition this side of the border, let’s not forget that Canadians everywhere have been hard at work for two years putting Canada’s own clean new deal into action.
Tackling climate change is a marathon, not a sprint. It requires transforming our economy, our workforce, and our communities though new thinking, smart technologies and an all-hands-on-deck effort led by youth, Indigenous peoples, farmers, entrepreneurs, investors, new Canadians and others. We can’t afford to lose momentum to the kind of polarization we see in America, the gilets jaunes movement in France, and increasingly divisive rhetoric here at home.
That’s why all Canadians who care about climate action, justice, equality, and clean economic growth must set aside our differences and work together.
Our climate is changing. We can too.
Catherine McKenna is the federal minister of environment and climate change.
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