Tim Gray
Tim Gray is executive director of Environmental Defence.
The choice is stark. We can continue clinging to oil, hoping a new American imperial thirst to directly control natural resources doesn’t turn toward Canadian territory, all while watching the global market for our oil product evaporate. Or we can pivot toward renewable energy, securing both our sovereignty and our economic future.
If our governments recognized the synergies between these objectives, it would secure a leadership spot for Canada on the international stage. Canadians from all backgrounds should settle for nothing less.
Action on toxic chemicals, industrial pollluter-pay rules and global plastics treaty negotiations should be on the new environment minister’s to-do list.
Ottawa should stop federal money from being spent on infrastructure that feeds destructive sprawl, including highways.
To develop modern energy and transportation solutions, we need a modern approach to deciding where and when mineral development makes sense.
Pollution and climate change continue to threaten both natural habitats—and the animals and plants that live in them—and our communities and health.
