Many of you have expressed frustration at the Liberals for calling this election, echoing anger from the provincial election the NDP held in 2020.
However, it means the time to elect a Green MP to South Okanagan-West Kootenay is now.
There is a shift happening. The climate emergency is impossible to ignore. The affordability crisis, exacerbated by the pandemic, has rocked communities. Local businesses and economies are suffering. People want to see action.
The climate emergency is raging in British Columbia as we experience another devastating wildfire season, and extreme heat events.
Without a change in policy and legislation this will be our new normal. Can the federal government do more?
Tara Howse, Green Party candidate, says, “Yes.”
Howse emphasizes that these disaster events are not “natural” but caused by human activities, like industrial logging.
While she acknowledges that resource management falls under provincial and territorial jurisdiction, there are actions the federal government can take.
“There is ample evidence showing that industrial logging is a contributing factor to both increased flooding events, increased greenhouse gas emissions, and larger, hotter wildfires,” said Howse. “And yet, there has been no moratorium on old growth logging, which should be a no-brainer.
“Old-growth stands are a carbon sink, a fire suppressant, and support incredible biodiversity.”
The Green Party Caucus has been advocating for greater involvement from the federal government. Through the national climate emergency declaration, the federal government could take steps to curb forestry as part of an action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Green Party MP, Paul Manly, developed a petition for federal intervention to immediately halt old-growth logging but not a single NDP MP signed.
Howse further notes that “Forestry is not just a provincial issue. Local communities’ watersheds and jobs are impacted. International trade agreements are involved. We need to be working across federal, local, and First Nations government jurisdictions to identify solutions that work best for us now, and the future.”
Tara Howse is willing to do just that, to work for the betterment of the people of the South Okanagan-West Kootenay riding by addressing the climate emergency and making sure that our region is better protected in the present and future.