HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News Record, 2016-06-29, Page 88 News Record • Wednesday, June 29, 2016
Packed town hall meeting on climate
change calls for rural solutions
BAYFIELD - More than 75 peo-
ple jammed the town hall in Bay-
field on Thursday, June 23 for the
first Huron -Bruce town hall meet-
ing on climate change. And for
many, the top priority was to find
rural solutions to the challenge
posed by climate change. A com-
mon theme was the call for more
public transportation in rural areas
where many people rely entirely on
their cars to get around.
The two-hour gathering was
organized by the Lake Huron Cen-
tre for Coastal Conservation and
the Huron -Bruce Federal Liberal
Association.
Allan Thompson, who repre-
sented the Huron -Bruce Federal
Liberals, opened the gathering by
explaining the context and piping
Environment and Climate Change
Minister Catherine McKenna into
the room through a video link.
"Addressing climate change is
one of the greatest challenges of
our generation," McKenna said in
the message. "We need your help,"
McKenna said. "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 dis-
cussion 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 during 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 environmentalist
from OMAFRA, provided 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 as well as
southern species of flying squirrels
and fish. There is also less ice cover
on the great lakes, which can con-
tribute 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 disturbance regard-
less of its cause.
The audience was presented
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 cli-
mate 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 grow-
ing the economy and jobs while
also reducing emissions?
• What are some ideas to pro-
mote innovation and new technol-
ogies in the effort to reduce green-
house gas emissions?
• What can Canada do to better
adapt to impacts of climate change
and support affected communities,
including Indigenous
communities?
The hall was so crowded for the
event that some opted to go out-
side to the park to hold their break-
out 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 education with young peo-
ple. "It worked for blue box, it
worked for smoking. Start with
kids."
"We had a table of very passion-
ate people who questioned
whether there was climate change,"
reported Barbara Hollingworth.
That table also warned about what
it called "politicizing climate
change for profit."
Another group called for what it
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One of the small group discussions.
Contributed photos
Bayfield town hall packed with residents on June 23 for conversations
regarding Canada's action on climate change.
dubbed "net zero homes" that
require no external energy for heat-
ing or cooling. "The government
should assist builders to build net
zero homes."
Several groups also 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 transporta-
tion, 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 biggest
consumer of fossil fuels, so all of
the ideas we've heard here about
improving our transportation sys-
tem are valid," note taker David
MacLaren said.
A detailed summary of the dis-
cussion will be publicly available
soon online at http://eccc.publi-
vate.ca/en. This feedback will con-
tribute to Canada's approach on
climate change.
Community members are
encouraged to host their own town
hall or submit an idea on how to
address climate change by visiting
the interactive website http://www.
canada. ca/ climataction.
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Rex Johnston, owner of Goderich Electric Ltd. and Bayfield Electric is
retiring July 1st 2016 after 47 years in the trade. Jason Rylaarsdam along with his wife
Sarah will be taking over the business and continuing to operate and serve the surrounding
communities in this area.
Rex wishes Jason and Sarah along with all the staff the very best in the future!
Special thanks to all our customers over the years!
For continued electrical service 24/7 please call:
Goderich Electric Ltd: 519-524-2889 & Bayfield Electric: 519-525-0638