The critics contend that SMRs are costly, unproven and creators of toxic waste of their own. From a practical point of view, it is hard to make the case that SMRs will be crucial in the battle against climate change, since they won’t come off the drawing board for years, if ever. Former Green Party…
The federal government and the four provincial governments that back nuclear power as part of the solution to greenhouse gas emissions face widespread opposition to their plans.
Environmental groups, some 120 women in leadership positions and three political parties have raised objections to the continued use of and ongoing development of nuclear power in Canada over the past couple of years. And frustration over the continued push for nuclear has intensified in recent months.
Anger over the intent to position nuclear power as a viable renewable comes at a time when federal Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan (under whose department falls the responsibility for nuclear power) has made bullish speeches endorsing its use.
French
TORONTO, April 20, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is pleased to see nature remain a key focus of the Government of Canada. NCC, a not-for-profit land conservation group, welcomes the historic investment in nature protection in Budget 2021, aimed at addressing the dual threats of climate change and biodiversity loss.
The federal budget earmarks a $2.3 billion commitment to conserve 1 million square kilometres of land over five years. Combined with funding for the Nature Legacy Initiative in Budget 2018, this is a major boost toward protecting 25 per cent of Canada’s lands and fresh water. It is in fact the largest-ever Canadian investment in nature. Of note, the funding supports Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas, as well as Indigenous Guardians programs.
Posted: Apr 07, 2021 4:00 AM ET | Last Updated: April 7
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland will table the federal budget on April 19 in Ottawa.(Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)
This column is an opinion by
Gauri Sreenivasan, Mandy Gull and Jacqueline Scott
.
Sreenivasan is policy director at Nature Canada. Gull is Deputy Grand Chief of the Cree Nation Government. Scott is a PhD student at the University of Toronto and founder of Black Outdoors.
The federal government is hard at work finalizing a budget that will underwrite our path forward out of the pandemic as a country. That s why 50 women leaders from diverse regions and sectors, and across Indigenous, Black, racialized and LGBTQ2IS+ communities, are writing to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland this week to remind her that nature s recovery is essential to our own.