Climate crisis needs immediate action, candidates in Kitchener Centre say

CBC invited candidates from the parties represented in the House of Commons for a panel discussion. Candidates for the Kitchener Centre riding were asked about climate change, the post-COVID-19 economy and how they'd have their voices heard if elected.

Conservative candidate Mary Heinen Thorn declined the invitation to take part. The Liberal candidate, Raj Saini, has ended his campaign for re-election.

The climate crisis is a "code red for humanity" and Canada needs to do more to address it, Kitchener Centre Green party candidate Mike Morrice says.

"We need to have a climate plan that follows the science," he said in a panel discussion with CBC Kitchener-Waterloo. 

As he knocks on doors, he says he's heard concerns from people of all ages about climate. Morrice has felt that himself — it was a lack of political leadership that spurred him to start Sustainable Waterloo Region 13 years ago.

"We need to have a climate plan that follows the science on climate," he said. "This is a code red for humanity."

Beisan Zubi, the NDP candidate in Kitchener Centre, says she is also hearing many people raise the climate crisis as a major concern in this federal election.

"We're hearing from young people who are so worried about their futures. They don't know what's happening because they don't see a plan," she said.

"I relate with them. As a young person myself, I don't see a future in dirty resource extraction."

How to make change

In terms of how to address the climate crisis, Morrice said there must be a 60 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030.

That would mean retrofitting buildings, including homes and businesses, which would create jobs and change the building code for new construction to be net-zero by 2030.

He says the federal government needs to look at the electricity grid and shift to renewable energy, such as moving hydro from Quebec to other provinces rather than being sold to the state of New York.

He says it also means looking at alternatives to transportation such as high-speed rail transit, cycling and electric vehicles for individuals.

"Just making it more cheaper and more convenient for our community to choose lower impact, lower emission transportation options," he said.

Morrice added there's a need to stop building infrastructure for fossil fuels, and if the government didn't subsidize oil and gas companies, that money could be used to help transition workers to new jobs.

Zubi says the NDP plan is a multi-pronged approach.

"We see climate change as climate justice because there are a lot of vulnerable people who are unequally affected by the effects of climate change," she said.

That means the country must meet its emission targets, divest from fossil fuels and shift into a zero carbon, net-zero economy.

"We also need to realize that climate change and a changing climate means more climate refugees that we need settlement services for. We need to make sure we're taking care of the health determinants that come with climate change, so we need to strengthen our health system, and we also know that unhoused people and housing insecurity is also leading to climate change," she said.

Other candidates on climate change

The two candidates running in the riding of Kitchener Centre also answered questions about the post-pandemic economy and what they will do, if elected, to ensure the needs of Waterloo region are heard on Parliament Hill.

Conservative candidate Mary Heinen Thorn declined the invitation to take part in the panel. In an interview with CBC K-W earlier in the election, she listed environment and climate change as being one of her top priorities.

Liberal candidate Raj Saini ended his campaign for re-election earlier this month after allegations of unwanted sexual advances and inappropriate comments were made public. In a statement, Saini denied all the allegations as "unequivocally false" but said he would no longer be running to win his seat.

Diane Boskovic, the candidate for the People's Party of Canada, has not addressed climate change directly on her website or social media accounts. The party's website says if elected, it would withdraw from the Paris Accord as well as eliminate the carbon tax and subsidies for green technology.

Ellen Papenburg is the candidate for the Animal Protection Party and on the party's website, she says animal rights and welfare and climate change are her top priorities.

The party's website says it would implement "aggressive carbon pricing" to "encourage rapid adoption of conservation measures." It would remove all tax incentives and subsidies for animal agriculture to help farms transition to plant-based economy and biocyclic vegan agriculture. 

The party would also stop all expansion or construction of new pipelines and end subsidies to the oil and gas sector.

The candidates running in Kitchener Centre are, in alphabetical order by last name:

• Diane Boskovic, People's Party of Canada.
• Mary Henein Thorn, Conservative Party of Canada.
• Mike Morrice, Green Party of Canada.
• Ellen Papenburg, Animal Protection Party of Canada.
• Beisan Zubi, New Democratic Party.

Voters go to the polls Sept. 20.

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