Statement from Canada’s Leading National Environmental Groups on the election of a Liberal government

Canadians have sent a clear message with this election: they favour strong environmental protection and want the federal government to dramatically ramp up action to reverse species decline and tackle Canada’s emissions in line with what the science says is needed to keep temperatures from rising above 1.5C degrees.

There is no time to waste. Canada’s new government will need to get to work as soon as possible to make good on the promises made during the election. We urge the parties to work together to deliver on their promises, many of which are consistent with each other.

Specifically, the Liberal Party, Bloc Québécois, Green Party and New Democratic Party have agreed to the following commitments:

• A legislated climate plan to reduce Canada’s emissions in line with keeping warming below 1.5°C; and a plan that would describe programs to reduce emissions from transportation, buildings and the oil and gas sector;
• A Just Transition plan to ensure workers and their families thrive during the transition to a low-carbon economy;
• At least 30 per cent of Canada’s land, freshwater and ocean will be protected by 2030 and managed to the highest international standards for ecological integrity (Liberal, Green, and NDP);
• Canadians will be better protected from pollution and toxics in everyday products by modernizing the Canadian Environmental Protection Act;
• A national strategy that includes a ban on the production, sale and distribution of the most problematic and unnecessary single-use plastics, and that works to create a circular economy focused on reuse;
• To uphold the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the protection of Indigenous and treaty rights.

We expect these commitments will be included in the mandate letters issued to members of Cabinet by the Prime Minister, and we look forward to engaging with the government on turning these promises into policy.

This is a joint statement by: Canadian Environmental Law Association, CPAWS, David Suzuki Foundation, Ecology Action Centre, Ecojustice, Équiterre, Environmental Defence, Greenpeace, Nature Canada, Pembina Institute, Sierra Club Canada Foundation, West Coast Environmental Law Association, WWF-Canada

The Federal Parties’ Environmental Platform Commitments can be found at www.election2019envirosurvey.ca / www.election2019ecosondage.ca

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For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Joshua Ostroff, senior editorial specialist, jostroff@wwfcanada.org, 416-529-2967 

Joy D’Souza, senior communications specialist, jdsouza@wwfcanada.org, 647-264-6776
Sean O’Shea, Ecojustice, soshea@ecojustice.ca, 1-800-926-7744 ext. 277