Ken Filson, Liberal
Liberal candidate Ken Filson, who’s attempting to win the Lambton-Kent-Middlesex seat, said Canada is a decade behind most other developed nations in environmental policies.
“I reject the concept that Canada either has to have a robust economy or a solid environmental policy and I believe most Canadians feel that way,” he said.
Filson said Canada must continue to develop the oil sands because the current economy depends on it but better ways must be found to so do.
“We can’t just accept spills as a cost of doing business because we’re doing long-term harm for short term gain,” he said. “We need to begin to wean ourselves off fossil-based fuels, a lot faster than the Conservatives 85-year-plan.”
Part of the problem is that the Conservatives are one of the few governments that still deny climate change.
“If you reject science in favour of big oil interests, what’s the rationale for change?” he said.
Bev Shipley, PC
The Conservative government is taking a bad rap when it comes to environmental initiatives says Lambton-Kent-Middlesex MP Bev Shipley.
Shipley said while various parties talk about the environment, his government has cut carbon emissions.
“We’ve gone sector by sector. Some people want a quick fix but we have to move in a way that still allows our economy to grow,” he said. “Drastic changes would have drastic effects.”
Shepley likened it to recycling.
“The first steps took time, but as things went along we went from just having a recycling box to having separate bins for different items. It simply takes time.”
He said changes in every sector of the economy play a role.
“Each industry and business as well as each individual finds a way to contribute. It’s not just a matter of flipping a switch. It’s more complicated than that.”
Jim Johnston, Green Party
Canadians need to stop thinking of the environment as some abstract issue, according to Lambton-Kent-Middlesex Green Party candidate Jim Johnston.
“The environment should be a major part of every policy we have,” he said. “It won’t always trump other matters but it needs to be considered. Without a healthy environment, nothing else will matter.”
Johnston said the environment is integrated into all aspects of the Green platform.
“We need to have a long-term sustainable policy which allows us to thrive as a society but do so in harmony with our environment. It is absolutely achievable once you begin to discount the special interests who hold us back.”
Johnston said the move away from a fossil fuel economy can’t be done overnight but needs a much greater sense of urgency than now exists.
“We need to be able to drive our cars and live in our society while we make the changes but we can’t wait until the end of the century as the Conservatives would have us do. That’ s not leadership, that’s ignoring the science that tells us we’re destroying the planet.”
Rex Isaac, NDP
The Conservative government is doing long-term damage to the environment for short term economic benefit, says Lambton-Kent-Middlesex NDP candidate Rex Isaac.
“We see the government pushing through pipelines, relaxing regulations on environmental safety, silencing scientists, all in the name of the almighty dollar,” he said. “We can live without more money but how are we going to live if we poison the planet just to make some rich shareholders richer?”
Isaac said his First Nations heritage has always placed the environment as a priority.
“Mother earth has far more power than we do and if we don’t begin respecting that, we will pay a high price for our ignorance. There are ways for us to have a strong economy without damaging the planet the way we have. We need to take a longer view of things so we leave something for our children.”
