Invitation to candidates in the Greater Sudbury Municipal Election
Posted on July 2, 2014 in Uncategorized
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Citizens' Climate Lobby in Sudbury invites all candidates in the upcoming Greater Sudbury Municipal election to visit the Our Horizon booth at the Northern Lights Festival Boreal this weekend to learn more about how Sudbury can continue to lead the charge on climate action.
INVITATION
Thank you for your commitment to serving Sudburians. Last week, the Natural Resource Federal department released a report called Canada in a Changing Climate: Sector Perspectives on Impacts and Adaptation. It was written by 90 authors, 115 expert reviewers, and synthesized more than 1,500 recent publications. It looked at natural resources, food production, industry, biodiversity, protected areas, human health, and water and transportation.
David McLaughlin, former executive director of the National Roundtable on the Economy and the Environment, which the government cut in 2012 said, “There is clearly a pretty big space between what the research and what experts are telling us about what’s going on and the political commitment on the part of governments and parties across the country to say, ‘This is real, we’ve got to do something about it."
As you probably know, politicians need an educated public to act effectively on issues. However, the Harper government cut public education programs about climate change including the One Million Acts of Green and the One Tonne Challenge. Think about it when is the last time you saw a federal government sponsored public education piece about climate change in the mainstream media?
Canadians need to be shaken out of their complacency with regards to the climate crisis. Since our federal government currently appears to be ignoring the urgency of the situation, it will be up to municipalities and the provinces to take action for the time being.
Thus, I am excited to invite you all to the Our Horizon booth this weekend in the Greenville section at the Northern Lights Festival on Saturday, July 5 or Sunday, July 6 from 12-5 in Bell Park. Our Horizon is helping communities across Canada with a unique initiative – put warning labels on gas pumps
The first step in addressing any problem is to honestly face it. We talk about climate change, tar sands and pipelines, but we never question the simple act of pumping gas. There is a complete disconnect. The warning labels draw attention to this unexamined act. They disrupt the status quo and stimulate demand for alternatives. Businesses and governments will respond. It is a simple yet powerful way to shake us out of our sense of complacency and help move communities in a more sustainable direction. With warning labels already on cigarette packages all over the world, this idea has been primed to go global.
On May 5, 16-year-old Emily Kelsall of West Vancouver convinced her city council to put warning labels on gas pumps.
Citizens' Climate Lobby would like for all candidates in the upcoming municipal election to support the City of Greater Sudbury using its legal authority to require gasoline retailers to put warning labels on gas pumps, similar to those found on cigarette packages.
Municipalities are able to do this under the authority of their licensing powers and general health and welfare powers found in the Municipal Act.
Let’s be the first city in Ontario to pass a law requiring warning label on gas pumps.
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