This is Climate Change, and We Aren’t Ready

Ontario Greens have a Climate Plan that lays out a roadmap for how we finally get to work and reduce our emissions in earnest

On an ordinary morning sometime in mid-July of 2021, I strapped my bike helmet on and organized my water pack. I scanned the horizon and looked out onto the corn field as I do every morning on my way to work. Only it was different this time. The sky looked hazy and pink. The air was thick. Apocalyptic. Later, we learned that the wildfires that blanketed large parts of Northern Ontario had led to this phenomenon called a “barbecue situation”. It is hard to breathe when you’re downwind from your neighbour’s BBQ.

We experienced the worst air quality in recent history- with many folks having to shelter indoors. My own strenuous bike ride to work felt hard on my lungs. This was Ontario’s first taste of what our family and friends in BC and Alberta cope with every single summer. Out West, wildfires are now burning down entire towns.

This is climate change. It is here. And we aren’t ready.

But there’s still time to stop the worst of it. To give up on what we must now do is to commit hundreds of millions of people to misery: displacement, starvation, and death. Climate Change is so many things, but at its core it is a threat to every species that shares this planet.

Here we are, in Spring of 2022, witnessing a horrific war in the Ukraine that is being exacerbated by the fossil fuel industry. Big oil is raking in billions in profits all the while working Ontarian’s are faced with the reality that they probably can’t afford to go on their planned road trips this summer to see friends, let alone heat their homes in a financially sustainable way. What is our government doing in response? Do our legacy parties TRULY have a plan to fix this? Right this very minute Doug Ford wants to build more gas plants, which would drive up climate emissions and our hydro bills. Federal Liberals are hell bent on more pipelines. The NDP is cutting down old growth forests- the last of our great carbon sinks. Forgive me for saying: I don’t believe them.

Ontarian’s have a special responsibility, and an opportunity to act on this existential crisis. We have never shied away from challenges. We have some of the world’s brightest minds working on solutions right in our province. Ontario Greens have a Climate Plan that lays out a roadmap for how we finally get to work and reduce our emissions in earnest. It won’t be easy, or cheap, but in true Green Party fashion, we’ve done our homework and shown exactly how to pay for it. The plan shows how we can crush climate pollution, create prosperity through good green jobs so we can succeed together, and restore water and nature.

GPO Climate

Please join me in bringing strong Greens to Queen’s Park to work across party lines, to bring everyone to the table and on board. I want to be there to advocate for you. I want to fight for you. Affordable homes, affordable electricity, high quality services, and 15 minute communities can be part of our future. Those things will be funded by the incredible economic opportunity that will be created by acting on Climate Change.

We can’t afford not to.

Pope’s Apology for Residential Schools Long Overdue

Dufferin–Caledon Greens respectfully acknowledge that our electoral district resides within the traditional territory and ancestral lands of the Tionontati (Petun), Attawandaron (Neutral), Haudenosaunee (Six Nations), and Anishinaabe peoples as recognized by the Haldimand and Upper Canada Treaties. The Charter of the Global Greens commits us to acknowledge the rights of indigenous peoples. This is based on our principles of Ecological Wisdom, Social Justice, and Respect for Diversity. The Green Party of Canada is committed to Reconciliation, Nation-to-Nation engagement, and self-determination for Canada’s Indigenous Peoples. It’s timely to remind ourselves of these principles and commitments because today Pope Francis apologized to Canada’s Indigenous Peoples for their treatment in residential schools run by the Catholic Church. He also declared his intention to visit Canada, perhaps in time for the annual Lac Ste Anne Pilgrimage planned for July 25-28, 2022.

Apology for the Catholic Church’s Role in Residential Schools Referring to “the abuses you suffered and the lack of respect shown for your identity, you culture, and even your spiritual values,” the Pope declared them to be “contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” The pontiff went on to say, “I ask for God’s forgiveness, and I want to say to you with all my heart: I am very sorry.”

Over more than a century, staff in 139 residential schools abused over 150,000 indigenous children, forcibly denying them access to their families and cultures. Under international law, this amounts to cultural genocide. Catholic missionary groups ran most of these schools.

Indigenous leaders visited the Vatican this week, calling on the Pope to make good on the $79 million the Catholic Church committed to pay under the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement fifteen years ago. They also asked for access to school records at the Vatican to shed light on the history of more than 1,000 unmarked graves recently discovered at school sites. The Pope didn’t mention these requests. Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission directly called on the Pope to come to Canada and apologize for the church’s role in these abuses back in 2015. Today’s announcement marks the first time the Vatican has responded to this call to action. For over a decade, Canada’s Greens have been calling on the Pope to apologize for the Catholic Church’s misconduct in residential schools. Dufferin-Caledon Greens seek to renew our commitment to walk the path of reconciliation with Canada’s Inuit, Metis, and

First Nations peoples, toward renewal of the relationships between Indigenous peoples and all Canadians.

Ask Peel Council to Freeze the Urban Boundary Now

There has been a lot going on in the Region of Peel that you may feel suprised to hear about. One reason could be that council sent out 700 postcards to 1.6 million residents in the region that they are planning on expanding the Urban Boundary from Mayfield Rd to King St: destroying 10,000 acres of farmland and natural biodiversity along with it. Even though over the course of these last few weeks with citizens, scientists, teachers, parents, environmentalists, armed forces members, and more all delegating before council asking to freeze the urban boundary - Peel Planning and Growth Management Committee seems to care only about their own personal interests and not the greater good of the entire community they’re supposed to be representing.

From Heritage Road to Highway 50, Caledon will become another bad example of how to plan for the future…

“So what’s our ask?

Peel Region Council should direct staff to reconsider all the input factors that go into determining how much new land is needed and develop a zero-boundary expansion option and a broader range of low-expansion options, just like Hamilton, Halton and now Orillia, so that Regional Councilors and the people of Peel Region can make a real decision about what kind of future we want.” Stop the Sprawl

“High-rises are an important part of the housing mix in cities. As are single family homes to towns and cities throughout the province. But there is also (literally) a lot of space in between. Adding triplexes, fourplexes and walk-up apartment buildings into existing neighbourhoods and mid-rise buildings on our main streets is a great way to increase supply. We can also redevelop former commercial land, like warehouses or plazas, that are underused or vacant.” GPO Housing

It’s also important to note how many flood plains and carbon sinks are within the proposed boundary expansion. Have we not learned from situations like the flooding in the Churchville area in February of this year? With its own residents naming sprawled housing developments as the root cause, how is it possible that the Region thinks doing more of the same thing will bring different results?

We have many more options to grow within the already existing urban boundaries: they know it and we know it. Now we have to get them to prove they care about us by voting NO to expanding the urban boundary on April 28th. Please join us in saving 10,000 acres by contacting the Region before the next meeting, even if you don’t live in Peel.

Environmental Defence has made it very easy to contact all Peel councillors, please click here to fill out the form - it takes less than 60 seconds!

If we act together, we can accomplish anything.

Alexis Wright
Publisher, Social Media Coordinator
Dufferin—Caledon Greens

A Few Thoughts…

My house was built in 1880. I have always believed in taking older houses and renovating them to reflect the best in ease of maintenance, comfort, and efficiency. In this way many generations can reuse a home without burdening the environment with all the stress and expense involved with building new homes. What’s new is not always better. So, there is a need to balance the long-term service life of the existing building inventory against the real need for new inventory. The need for the economic and shelter benefits of new housing is real. What needs to be addressed is how we go about it. Infill and redevelopment must trump new greenfield development at the same time as we challenge governments, architects’ developers, bankers and insurers to rethink and redesign the current built form, while at the same time locating new housing close to existing infrastructure and fair and equitable employment areas.

In the upcoming election a word you will hear repeated constantly is affordability, but what does this mean especially as we face the daunting challenge of current rental rates and selling prices of new homes combined with low minimum wages and a combined median household income in Ontario of well under a $100,000.00 a year? There is a large disconnect between real income for average wage earners and the cost of living here in 2022 as the cost of money is rising. What will happen to mortgagees who currently hold mortgages at 2% when the renewal rate rises to 5% and selling prices drop by 20%?

The 100-year multi generational mortgage was introduced in Japan in 1983 to address availability and affordability. It continues today. In the USA some financial institutions have introduced The Green Mortgage which provides discounted rates to home buyers who opt for green features and benefits in their new build or renovation. In Europe most average citizens live in small houses, drive small cars and live close to work. Sadly, here in Ontario we squander our land and water, drive many gas guzzling vehicles, take our environment for granted and elect governments who green wash themselves to get elected and then fail to perform. This is not to say that there are not many citizens and employers who are leading the charge for environmental responsibility, but their efforts must be supported by governments that truly share their commitment to a sustainable future not just for Ontario but for the entire planet.

The solutions exist but if we continue to equate them to short term payback scenarios, we will never do anything. Look to the pioneering spirit of green entrepreneurs in the private sector who understand that healthy financial results are not only possible but critical to success. Government needs to get out of the way and provide legislation that allows green capitalism to prosper and deliver the jobs and products we so desperately need in a fair and equitable society.

If we keep blindly adhering to the way things have always been done politically, we will continue to get the results we are so disappointed in today. There is a real and compelling need to reinvent the way we conduct ourselves as a civil, caring and equitable society. We must accept that positive change is necessary as we find new and creative ways preserve ourselves and all life forms. We fundamentally understand that when something is broken, we need to fix it and we need to apply this understanding to the way we govern ourselves, manage our finances/economy and our environment. If it was easy, surely, we would have fixed it by now. Apparently, it is not, and it is more easily said than done.

Having said all this and I could go on, I believe that The Green Party represents the promise of the future where we live in harmony with ourselves and nature. I also believe that women are much more capable than men of delivering our preferred future by peaceful testosterone free means that respect and honour life, liberty, and mother nature at the same time. This is yet another reason to support and promote our candidate Laura Campbell who is exactly the kind of positive change agent we need to deliver a better outcome for Dufferin Caledon and Ontario. Please donate what you can and volunteer your time, talents, and service to Laura’s campaign. If you do nothing else, please, please encourage those who don’t vote to change their minds and exercise their democratic duty which is the bedrock of the life and values that we cherish. Remember, in Australia you get fined for not voting!

In closing, it is important to recognize that democracy while being a very challenging system to preserve and protect must be protected and strengthened if we are to truly live up to our Green Promise of a better future in all respects. We need only look to Europe and the anti-democratic horrors of the war in Ukraine, the blatant attack on democracy in the USA and yes in Canada, the rise of China and all the other autocratic tin pot governments that exist around the world to truly appreciate how fragile democracy can be. Here in our own backyard, we have suffered under a regressive Conservative Party that has leveraged its majority position to the disservice to everyday Ontarian’s through draconian business development measures that serve the few and leaves the many behind. This is democracy at its lowest ebb. It is important to note that a minimum wage of $15.00 an hour equates to an income of $30,000.00 a year assuming a normal 2000-hour year. The current government thinks they have done minimum wage earners a big favour. Does anyone work for $15.00 an hour in the public sector? Does anyone really believe that the CEO of Ontario Power Generation is worth 1.8 million a year or that our electricity rates are reasonable vs other lower cost jurisdictions. Beware apathy for it allows these kinds of gross inequities to go unanswered.

Donate, volunteer, vote and get others to vote and lets exercise democracy in a way that is an inspiration for future generations and a rallying call for fair and decent minded people everywhere: laura-campbell.ca. Together we can elect Laura Campbell!

Pray for Democracy in Ukraine!

Frank Buck
Editor
Dufferin—Caledon Greens

Gravel Groans

In the fall 2021 edition of “Avenues” the Executive Director of the Ontario Sand, Stone and Gravel Association (OSSGA) wrote in his opening message that “the growing ability of those who oppose development of all kinds to act in unison and respond quickly to any suggestion that their industry might encroach on personal or communal property, regardless of the worthiness of the proposed land use” were Headwind Number One. He went on to state that:

The Provincial government were Headwind Number Two for failing to reverse a decision on the Growth Plan.

Municipalities that were sympathetic to their residents’ concerns about well water, air pollution, truck traffic noise and dust, were admonished “not to give in to NIMBYs” and were Headwind Number Three for slowing down approval process.

It was a remarkable statement from an Industry that operates in Ontario with enough licenses to extract gravel for one hundred years, and without ever having to show need. It is the only industry that operates with so little transparency yet so deeply impacts, often for decades, the communities where we live.

The Ontario Provincial policy statement states "as much of the mineral aggregate resources as is realistically possible shall be made available as close to markets as possible. Demonstration of need for mineral aggregate resources, including any type of supply/demand analysis, shall not be required."

‘No need to show need’ has meant that the industry has expanded licenses and sought new licenses before finishing existing pits and has not needed to justify the number of current licenses. The government has already green lit enough gravel extraction to produce a total of two billion tonnes, which is thirteen times more than what is currently used for projects per year.

Since the “secret aggregate” meeting held at the Bolton Hampton Inn and Suites in March 2019 the aggregate industry has been given an extensive wish list in Ontario including licenses that allow extracting under the water table and the ability to “offset” species at risk who might be in the way of a gravel application.

Many communities across Ontario have been left with expensive battles trying to mitigate impacts these changes to the Aggregate Resources Act have had to their communities. It is a David and Goliath situation trying to raise enough funds for legal representation and expert witness. 70 per cent of towns in the province have at least one quarry for construction aggregate like gravel. The 413 and Bradford Bypass has increased demand and more mines are seeking licenses. A number of the 5,000-or-so existing ones have applied for expansion.

In January 2022, the Reform Gravel Mining Coalition was formed. The formal coalition partners are the Wellington Water Watchers, Environmental Defence, the Wilderness Committee, and the Council of Canadians as well as more than thirty community groups that have signed up in support.

Since January several municipalities including Peel, have signed motions asking for a moratorium.

Reform Gravel Mining

Should Highway 413 be approved there will be more gravel hauled through Dufferin—Caledon for the next decade. Should a sprawling urban boundary be approved in Peel region, expanding by another 11,000 acres north into the Greenbelt, there will be even more gravel hauling. However, if we, @STOPthe413NOW and @StopSprawlPeel, can curb the amount of excessive extraction that is currently destroying the landscape and imperilling groundwater.

No one is arguing we need gravel for roads and houses. But how much do we need?

The call for a moratorium is so that an independent panel can audit and assess the industry so that we are not losing more farmland than what is necessary and reasonable.

To learn more, please click here to read this excellent article by The Pointer.

Jenni Le Forestier
Stop Sprawl Peel, Federal Green Candidate 2021

Good Things Happen Too!

Empire State Building Retrofit Fights Climate Change

I remember watching the original King Kong movie from 1933 on Elwy Yost’s Saturday Night at the Movies program back in the 70s. The climax of the film, where King Kong scales the iconic Empire State Building was one of the most ground-breaking special effects in the history of cinema.

They chose the Empire State Building for that film because it was brand new at the time. Until they built the original World Trade Center in 1970, it was also by far the tallest building in the world, and he world’s most famous office tower.

In 2008, Malkin Holdings, the company that owned the Empire State Building, embarked on a plan to retrofit it. They wanted to make the building more energy efficient to help fight climate change.

Upgrades Reduced Energy Consumption by One-Third

The upgrades reduced energy consumption throughout the massive building by one-third. The net result was a three-year payback on Malkin’s investment.

Now, the building’s current ownership, Empire State Realty Trust is taking part in a New York State project called the Empire Building Challenge. The project’s objective is to find new ways to decarbonize tall buildings in cold climates.

They’re piloting a solution called Resource Efficient Electrification (REE). They’ll follow a plan enabling them to replace fossil heat generation with rightsized heat pumps in a cost-effective way.

New York State plans to move to 100 percent zero-emissions electricity by 2040, and economy-wide carbon neutrality by 2050. Over the next 28 years, billions of square feet of office space will be fully decarbonized under the state’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.

Green Party of Ontario Will Foster Green Building Retrofits

In a similar way, the Green Party of Ontario is committed to providing incentives for green building retrofits to create jobs, reduce climate pollution and help people save money by saving energy.

Greens will cut fossil fuel use in buildings by 50% by 2030 and to net-zero by 2040. We’ll create hundreds of thousands of new jobs by retrofitting 40% of existing homes and workplaces through conservation and heat pump technology.

The GPO will set a Gas Footprint standard to slightly reduce the carbon footprint of fossil has heating fuel. At the same time, we’ll eliminate fossil fuel use in new and renovated government buildings by 2025, and in all Ontario government buildings by 2030.

Ontario Greens will amend the Building Code, requiring all new buildings to be zero-emission and resilient by 2028. We’ll see to it those new buildings have the lowest possible carbon footprint and that building owners label and disclose their fossil fuel use to make it transparent.

Getting fossil gas out of heating buildings will be a challenge, but one that has already been largely achieved in places like Sweden, and well underway in New York.

By voting Green, you can make sure our climate strategy is more than just a good idea.

David Rintoul
Writer
Dufferin—Caledon Greens

SPECIAL EVENTS

We need volunteers to help set up the new office space!

Please register below and drop by the office any time between 12-5pm on Tuesday, April 19th and/or Thursday, April 21st to help us tidy up and decorate!

APRIL 22 (Earth Day)

Volunteer Meeting & Welcome Event

Join us at our new campaign office for a SPECIAL Earth Day Volunteer Welcome! Click here to register.

APRIL 23

SUPER SATURDAY Canvassing in Orangeville

Join us for the first SUPER SATURDAY canvass in Orangeville!

10AM: Meet at Campaign Office to receive canvassing kits; turf assignments; training, and a snack! Click here to register.

"Stop the 413" Rally in Orangeville

Join our team our outstanding candidate Laura Campbell and her volunteers as we show our support to Stop the 413.

1PM: Meet at SW Corner of First & Broadway in Orangeville (in front of Sylvia Jones office.) More information here.

APR 28

Fundraiser for Laura Campbell w/ Mike Schreiner

Save the date!

6:30PM: Join Laura in welcoming Ontario Green leader, and MPP for Guelph, Mike Schreiner to Dufferin—Caledon. Click here to register.

Full agenda coming soon!

MAY 4

Click here to RSVP!

Acknowledgement & Reconciliation

Dufferin–Caledon Greens respectfully acknowledge that our electoral district resides within the traditional territory and ancestral lands of the Tionontati (Petun), Attawandaron (Neutral), Haudenosaunee (Six Nations), and Anishinaabe peoples as recognized by the Haldimand and Upper Canada Treaties. The Charter of the Global Greens commits us to acknowledge the rights of indigenous peoples. This is based on our principles of Ecological Wisdom, Social Justice, and Respect for Diversity. The Green Party of Canada is committed to Reconciliation, Nation-to-Nation engagement, and self-determination for Canada’s Indigenous Peoples.

Please stay safe,
follow all COVID-19 protocols,
and when it's your turn - get vaccinated!