The Lucknow Sentinel, 2016-07-06, Page 66 Lucknow Sentinel • Wednesday, July 6, 2016
The Huron -Bruce Liberal Climate Change roundtable in Bayfield on June 23, 2016 saw 75 people out to discuss rural input on Canada's climate change approach. Former Huron- Bruce Liberal candidate
Allan Thompson headed the meeting.
Huron -Bruce Liberals pack Bayfield hall to talk climate change
More than 75 people
jammed the town hall in Bay-
field on June 23, 2016 for the
first Huron -Bruce town hall
meeting on climate change.
And for many, the top pri-
ority was to find rural solu-
tions to the challenge posed
by climate change.
A common theme was the
call for more public transpor-
tation in rural areas where
many people rely entirely on
their cars to get around.
The two-hour gathering
was organized by the Lake
Huron Centre for Coastal
Conservation and the
Huron -Bruce Federal Liberal
Association.
Allan Thompson, who rep-
resented the Huron -Bruce
Federal Liberals, opened the
gathering by explaining the
context and piping Environ-
ment and Climate Change
Minister Catherine McK-
enna into the room through
a video link.
"Addressing climate
change is one of the greatest
challenges of our genera-
tion," McKenna said in the
message. "We need your
help. We need your ideas
and solutions and we need
everyone to engage in this
national effort."
Thompson, who was the
Liberal candidate in Huron -
Bruce in last fall's election,
echoed McKenna.
"We need your experience
and creativity as we develop
Canada's plan to provide
cleaner growth," Thompson
said. "Climate change is a
challenge for everyone. This
discussion is an opportunity
to seek input and ideas to
deal with it, together."
Pam Scharfe, from the Lake
Huron Centre for Coastal
Conservation, talked about
the impact of climate change
on water levels and the area's
beaches. And in an aside dur-
ing the discussion, she said
she was encouraged by the
fact that the government was
reaching out for public input
on its climate change strategy.
David Bray, an environ-
mentalist from OMAFRA, pro-
vided a briefing on climate
change and the rural context.
Bray said climate change is
being observed in the Great
Lakes basin, with the arrival of
orchids that have moved
north, southern species of fly-
ing squirrels and fish. There is
also less ice cover on the great
lakes, which can contribute to
erratic weather and more
severe storms.
"We think there's more
severe storms than what
we're used to," Bray said.
"Severe winter storms and
floods have all increased
greatly in number since the
late 1980s:'
And as winters get warmer
with climate change, the
number of pests and diseases
that survive the winter may
increase, leading to greater
outbreaks and infestations,
Bray said. Invasive species
take advantage of distur-
bance regardless of its cause.
The audience was pre-
sented with five suggested
discussion questions and
given an hour to grapple with
them and then report back.
The suggested discussion
questions were the following:
• What have been your own
experiences with the
impacts of climate change?
• What are the solutions to
reducing greenhouse gases
that you would like to see
governments, businesses and
communities implement?
• What are your ideas for
growing the economy and
jobs while also reducing
emissions?
• What are some ideas to
promote innovation and
new technologies in the
effort to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions?
• What can Canada do to bet-
ter adapt to impacts of cli-
mate change and support
affected communities,
including Indigenous
communities?
The hall was so crowded
for the event that some opted
to go outside to the park to
hold their breakout groups.
Others retreated downstairs.
But after an hour or so, the
group re -convened for a
rapid fire round to hear from
a representative of each
table, tasked with pulling
together the highlights of the
discussion.
"We need to find out how
to make the government
have the political will to
make the changes that are
available and necessary. We
pay now or we pay later,"
note taker Allison Lobb said,
speaking for her group. She
also called for greater educa-
tion with young people. "It
worked for blue box, it
worked for smoking. Start
with kids:'
"We had a table of very
passionate people who
questioned whether there
was climate change,"
reported Barbara Holling-
worth. That table also
warned about what it called
"politicizing climate change
for profit:'
Another group called for
what it dubbed "net zero
homes" that require no
external energy for heating
or cooling. "The government
should assist builders to
build net zero homes."
Several groups also
Submitted
Canada's minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine
McKenna, took part in the roundtable via video link.
mentioned wind turbines,
some questioning the utility of
the turbines at all, and others
calling for a more equitable
distribution of the economic
gains from the turbines.
Several groups called for
greater investment in public
transportation, such as light
rail, or busing. "And small
towns need bike lanes just as
much as cities do," one note
taker reported.
One group questioned a
focus on emissions and
called for more attention to
mitigation strategies.
"Transportation is the big-
gest consumer of fossil fuels,
so all of the ideas we've
heard here about improving
our transportation system
are valid," note taker David
MacLaren said.
A detailed summary of the
discussion will be publicly
available soon online at
http://eccc.publivate.ca/en
This feedback will contribute
to Canada's approach on cli-
mate change.
Community members are
encouraged to host their
own town hall or submit an
idea on how to address cli-
mate change by visiting this
interactive website: www.
canada.ca/climataction