What federal issues matter to Montreal voters?
CBC talked to some Montrealers about the issues that matter in the federal election.
To me, steering a recovery from the pandemic that doesn’t throw environmental concerns out the window is the only challenge right now. Every government will be pushed by lobbyists (and by more right-leaning elements in its own party and other parties) to ignore environmental commitments and focus only on economic recovery.
And yet: Our public pensions are heavily invested in fossil fuels while parts of the planet are burning, including here in Canada. If that’s not enough to indicate we’re making the planet uninhabitable, July was the hottest month on record worldwide. How much worse will it have to get before someone like Legault is no longer able to say that protecting the environment will not come at the expense of jobs, as he did last week?
Legault believes in the economy and jobs in the way he really doesn’t, in his heart, believe we’re damaging the environment. How much worse will it have to get?
walkerp 11:32 on 2021-08-17 Permalink
Hear hear!
This is a global emergency and should be treated that way at every level of government and every aspect of society.
dhomas 13:05 on 2021-08-17 Permalink
We missed a tremendous opportunity with this pandemic. People were out of work, airlines were hemorrhaging money, the economy was in terrible shape, etc.
We should have created make-work projects to put people to work building sustainable infrastructure like fast, electric trains. Let the airlines fail without giving them a bailout, then nationalize them for overseas travel only. By the time the infrastructure projects are done, there would be no reason to allow for domestic/US air travel as trains could move people just as fast. Air travel is already hub and spoke, so trains would work similarly. Government should also have invested in green tech and training/education in environmental technologies. A local company like Lion Electric, for example, shouldn’t have needed to get investment from US shareholders. Our government and pension plans should be investing in companies like these instead of fossil fuels. Make a local Tesla, then make sales of new gas cars illegal in 2 years. (I still don’t understand why/how Quebec is not a leader in EV technology, given the advantage we have with cheap and clean electricity)
Environmentalism doesn’t need to come at the expense of the economy. There’s plenty of money to be made in green tech, it’s just that it will be different companies making it, so the oil and gas companies fight it. They fight it to the point of making the oil industry part of some people’s “culture” (see here for an example: https://images.thestar.com/Wn4SJ7buRnhM1cSkVi7dI8eKY9Q=/1280×1024/smart/filters:cb(1574912398407)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/edmonton/2019/11/25/was-jason-kenney-booed-at-the-grey-cup/jasonkenney.jpg).
In any case, we need to make a change, now. By the time everything is literally on fire or under water, it will be far too late.
Tim S. 15:17 on 2021-08-17 Permalink
I wish some politician would take up the cause of working from home, if it makes (some) people happier, reduces transit emissions, reduces the amount of garbage we produce – I remember a pre-COVID thread here about the amount of waste produced by a single food court meal. This is a real opportunity to create 15-minute neighbourhoods everywhere, and could all be in danger because a bunch of bosses only feel like bosses if they can see their underlings in person. Though I suppose Labour code provincial thing, but federal politicians are happy to ignore that distinction if it suits them.
Chris 18:48 on 2021-08-17 Permalink
The environment takes a back seat to just about everything, not just the economy, but to covid too. We now know covid doesn’t transmit by touch, yet they’re going to be killing extra trees to make single use pencils for this election, and many stores still force you to do the sanitizer theatre, and the CNESST requires workplaces to use disposable masks instead of reusable ones, etc., etc. Sigh.
DeWolf 09:48 on 2021-08-18 Permalink
The amount of waste created by the pandemic response is outrageous. Many cafés still haven’t gone back to using ceramic cups even if they are allowing people to sit indoors and on the terrace, which is mind-bogglingly nonsensical.
At the same time, I’m not sure what Chris is going on about with regards to “sanitizer theatre.” Yeah, washing your hands and frequently cleaning surfaces may not help with Covid, but it’s done wonders to reduce the common cold, the flu and gastroenteritis. When I was living in post-SARS Hong Kong, one of the things that always stood out to me when I came back to Canada was the low standards of hygiene and the overall level of filth everywhere.
John B 12:48 on 2021-08-18 Permalink
@DeWolf: The guidelines for cleaning surfaces are often “surfaces must be disinfected between every use” so stores, if they’re trying to be 100% compliant, may do things like sanitize a door handle every time someone goes in our out, or the PIN pad, or sanitize the whole cash area between customers. Since over-sanitizing can lead to super-bugs, and uses stuff that needs to be produced and disposed of, some amount of it is wasteful theatre.
Chris 18:53 on 2021-08-18 Permalink
John B, yes, that’s exactly what I was referring to. Some of the stores I go to have chilled out and, though they still have sanitizer in the entrance, there’s no one there to force you. Other stores are the opposite and still have an employee watching the sanitizer and forcing you to use it or leave. This will save approximately zero lives from covid, but probably cost several lives from air pollution to create and transport the sanitizer. It’s not like sanitizer, disposable masks and disposable pencils grow on trees, as the saying goes.