Would our next prime minister look after the environment?

Under the title, “The country is on fire. Pierre Poilievre doesn’t seem to care”, Gary Mason opened an article in The Globe and Mail on May 23 with the observation that forest fires were already raging in many parts of the country. Readers of Canada’s National Observer did not need to be told.

The federal government understood the connection between fossil fuels and global warming in 1988, when it hosted the Toronto International Conference on the Changing Atmosphere.

At the time, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney was the first national leader to sign the United Nations Framework Convention in 1992. That turned out to be the easy part.

Corporate Knights recently reported that during his 20-year career as a member of Parliament, Conservative leader, Pierre Poilievre, has voted, according to House of Commons voting records, against the environment nearly 400 times.

That includes voting “nay” to bills crafted to hold mining companies accountable for environmental damage, move Canada closer towards achieving its climate targets, and create high-quality jobs in low-carbon industries nationwide.

Poilievre’s anti-environment record includes voting “yea” for legislation designed to weaken environmental safeguards on new industrial projects and accelerate expansion of the oil and gas industry, Canada’s dominant and growing source of greenhouse gas emissions.

During his two decades in Parliament, Poilievre voted in favour of the environment and climate action just 13 times. This suggests that for a Poilievre-led government, the odds are 40-to-1 against effective policy and programs to reduce Canada’s very large contribution to global warming and other environmental issues.

Canada ranks behind only Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf States in its per capita emissions, way above European countries. This country has lost its international credibility on this file. It could get worse with Poilievre as prime minister.

On May 28, a high temperature of 52.9 C was reported in New Dehli. Humans and other species cannot survive such temperatures that exceed body temperature by a wide margin. India will not be the only country hit, not by a long shot.

The wellbeing of Canadians — and all humans, not to mention other species — depends on policies and programs that actually work. This should be a central issue in the next election.

Our federal government seems to have gotten over its single-minded fixation on carbon taxes, which do not work in retail markets at the prices charged. Some of its more recent policies represent tiny steps in the right direction. But the Liberal government ignores the key role fossil fuels play in contributing to climate change.

This is a difficult issue for any government because a significant decision in favour of the natural environment and human health entails economic costs for the national and western economies.

That said, the cost of environmental change on human health is enormous, caused by increased particulate emissions, resulting in increased lung cancers, increased infectious diseases, asthma, immune dysregulation, mental health issues, increased severe weather events, and decreased ability to grow healthy food and millions of increased deaths globally.

Canada ‘s bill for health care in 2023 was approximately $344 billion. A portion was related to these changes.

The Conservatives are quite naturally hiding their intentions at this stage of the electoral cycle. The recent report by Corporate Knights offers a clear idea of what to expect if a Conservative government were elected.

The recent win by the conservatives in the St Paul’s riding makes all of this that much more worrisome for all Canadians in future elections and for our health. It also could affect our goals to maintain biodiversity. Ultimately, as the climate worsens, the economy suffers with implications for jobs and affordability. Already, many homes are uninsurable or insurable only at great expense.

We cannot afford to court disaster by voting in a Conservative government. Meanwhile, the Liberals need to work harder to convince the public that they are the only real option by creating funding for community microgrids powered by solar, sewage, heat pumps, and wind, and by funding a vast network of charging stations for EV’s, making them a more attractive option. These options will eventually translate into positive effects on the environment.

Our health and our economy depends on it.

Richard van der Jagt, Adjunct Professor of Medicine, University of Ottawa, is a member of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment.
John Hollins, a biophysicist, chaired the energy workshop at the Toronto International Conference on the Changing Atmosphere.
Geoff Strong, an atmospheric scientist, is a past chair of the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society.