The Green Party has Canada’s only comprehensive plan to avoid climate catastrophe.
Canadian Civil society organizations are rallying behind efforts to create our own version of the Green New Deal expounded by U.S. Democrats. They are calling it The Pact for a Green New Deal. Canadian Greens applaud their commitment and enthusiasm and wholeheartedly endorse their demands for decisive action on the climate emergency, mainly because we have been describing and promoting this exact thing sometime past forever.
If Greens are elected in sufficient numbers to either form government or exert significant influence in a minority parliament, Green MPs will:
- Declare a Climate Emergency
Accept, at every level of government, that climate is not an environmental issue. It is the gravest security threat the world has ever seen. - Establish an inner cabinet of all parties
Modelled on the war cabinets of Mackenzie King and Winston Churchill, parties will work together to ensure that climate is no longer treated like a political football. It requires all
hands on deck. - Set stringent new targets
Establish our new target and file it as Canada’s Nationally Determined Contribution with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change: 60 per cent GHG reductions against
2005 levels by 2030; zero emissions by 2050. - Assume leadership
Attend the next climate negotiation in Chile this year and press other countries to also double their efforts. - Respect evidence
Restore funding of climate research within the Government of Canada and in the network of universities that received financial support before 2011. - Maintain carbon pricing
Revenue neutrality will be achieved through carbon fee and dividend and we will eliminate all subsidies to fossil fuels. - Ban fracking
No exceptions. It destroys ecosystems, contaminates ground and surface water, endangers our health and it’s a major source of GHGs. - Green the grid
By 2030, remove all fossil fuel generation from our national east-west electricity grid. - And modernize the grid
By 2030, rebuild and revamp the east-west electricity grid to ensure that renewable energy can be transmitted from one province to another. - Plug in to EVs
By 2030 ensure all new cars are electric. By 2040, replace all internal combustion engine vehicles with electric vehicles, working with car makers to develop EVs that can replace working vehicles for Canadians in rural areas. Build a cross-country electric vehicle charging system so that drivers can cruise from St. John’s, NL to Prince Rupert, B.C. – with seamless ease. - Get Canada back on track
Modernize VIA Rail, expand service and ensure trans-modal connections across Canada to light rail and electric buses, so that no one in rural and remote areas of Canada lacks efficient, affordable and safe public transit. - Complete a national building retrofit
Create millions of new, well-paying jobs in the trades by retrofitting every building in Canada – residential, commercial, and institutional – to be carbon neutral by 2030. - Turn off the tap to oil imports
End all imports of foreign oil. As fossil fuel use declines, use only Canadian fossil fuels and invest in upgraders to turn Canadian solid bitumen into gas, diesel, propane and other products for the Canadian market, providing jobs in Alberta. By 2050, shift all Canadian bitumen from fuel to feedstock for the petrochemical industry. - Switch to bio-diesel
Promote the development of local, small scale bio-diesel production, primarily relying on used vegetable fat from restaurants. Mandate the switch to bio-diesel for agricultural, fishing and forestry equipment. - Create new partnerships for renewables
Form partnerships with Indigenous peoples, providing economic opportunities by ramping up renewables on their lands. Harness abandoned deep oil wells, wherever feasible, for geothermal energy, using workers who drilled the wells to manage the renewable energy generation. - Call for all hands on deck
Engage every municipality and community organization, as well as every school and university to step up and plant trees, install solar panels, heat pumps, assist in retrofitting buildings to maximize energy efficiency. - Prioritize adaptation
Invest significant resources in adaptation measures to protect Canadian resource sectors such as agriculture, fishing and forestry from the ravages of climate change. Review all infrastructure investments for adaptation to climate change. Map flood plains, tornado corridors and other areas of natural vulnerability and adjust land use plans accordingly. - Change planes
Cancel the purchase of F35s and buy more water bombers to protect communities from forest fires. Cut standing dead timber to establish fire breaks and save lives. - Curtail the “other” GHG sources
Address the fossil fuel use that falls outside the Paris Agreement – emissions from international shipping, aviation and the military. - Restore carbon sinks
Launch a global effort to restore carbon sinks, focusing on replanting forests and restoring the planet’s mangrove forests as quickly as possible.
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