NEWS RELEASE
SUSTAINABLE ORILLIA
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Sustainable Orillia’s members, as expected, are keenly interested in the upcoming Ontario election.
Like others with concern about the environment and actions being taken — or not being taken — to address the climate crisis, our members and supporters want to know what Ontario’s parties will do if elected on June 2.
In mid-April, Sustainable Orillia canvassed over 500 supporters, asking for input from them — specifically, the questions they want asked of local candidates in the election. The results confirmed the wide variety of issues connected to the consequences of the climate crisis we are facing — and reconfirmed their sense of the urgent action needed to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and transition to more sustainable practices.
These were some of the areas of concern raised (in no particular order):
- How much of a priority is the climate for your party?
- Retrofitting: making buildings “greener.”
- Charging stations and incentives for EVs.
- The promotion and funding of green innovations.
- Disappearing farmland and food security issues.
- Health issues, including growing anxiety in young people about their futures.
- Protecting the environment — wetlands, lakes and rivers, drinking water, and vulnerable species.
- Carbon-free alternatives to natural gas.
A group of Sustainable Orillia members then met to bundle the many questions into a smaller number of key questions and decided to present these questions directly in one-on-one meetings with each local candidate from the four main parties. The interviews will be recorded and made accessible to the general public on our website and through our social media for the duration of the Ontario campaign.
Subject to candidate availability and, of course, their willingness to participate, Sustainable Orillia will be contacting candidates to set up these meetings as soon as possible over the next week or so. Watch our site at www.sustainableorillia.ca to see how your local candidates answered questions about sustainability, our environment, and the climate crisis.
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