Juno News - December 18, 2020
Using the pandemic to push a green agenda
Episode Stats
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175.84496
Summary
In April, the Green Party of Canada sent out a press release that really floored me when I saw it. They were looking at the lockdowns, which were quite new at the time, and they were saying, hey, this actually creates a template for a way to go about things to combat climate change, to never go back to the old ways of living and doing things. Their words, template, old ways, their words... their words, not mine.
Transcript
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Back in April, the Federal Green Party of Canada sent out quite a press release that really floored
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me when I saw it. They were looking at the lockdowns, which were quite new at the time,
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middle of April, and they were saying, hey, this actually creates a template for a way to go about
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things to combat climate change, to never go back to the old ways of living and doing things.
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Their words, template, old ways, their words, not mine. I thought, wow, this is really something.
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And I tried to ring the alarm bell about it. I posted it on social media. I was chatting about
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it here and there. People didn't seem too bothered by it, didn't generate a lot of mainstream attention.
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And in all fairness, the Green Party is not a mainstream party. They have, what, two members
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of parliament, two or three, something like that. They're the fifth party, fifth place party. Not all
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that relevant, not particularly in control of things. So, okay, who cares what they're saying?
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But hold on a second. We're hearing more and more organizations say things just like that
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closer and closer to the top. Like the United Nations and their environmental department,
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which, as we know, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Catherine McKenna, Environment Minister Jonathan
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Wilkinson, Stephen Guilbault, another cabinet minister, they really like what the UN is saying
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and doing. And they really pledged to fulfilling a lot of the UN's climate goals, particularly,
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of course, the Paris Climate Agreement. Well, take a listen to something from a report that
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the UN released just the other day. And talking about the pandemic, they say it's provided insight
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into how rapid lifestyle changes can be brought about by governments who must create conditions
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that make lifestyle changes possible. The lockdown period in many countries may be long enough to
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establish new lasting routines if supported by longer term measures and planning the recovery.
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Governments have an opportunity to catalyze low carbon lifestyle changes by disrupting entrenched
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practices. Wow, that's something. So these programs, the recovery, they're not just saying,
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okay, we'll support individuals and businesses, give them a check every month and so forth. They're saying,
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no, no, no more to entrenched practices. And again, this is not from some fringe outfit
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off to the side. This is from the UN's environmental department, the very same organization that has
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created things that Canada has gone on to sign on to. This is a problem. I put a request into
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Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson's office, haven't heard back from him yet on, what do you feel
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about all this? Are you guys soon going to be signing up to this? Extremely worrisome,
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extremely problematic, if they are. And I think opposition politicians, Canadians, people all across
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the country should really be saying to the government, this is a worrisome thing. Are you
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planning on implementing this? Because I really hope you don't.