Del Duca urges non-partisan approach to tackling climate change

Thestar.com
April 30, 2019
Robert Benzie

As floods ravage Ontario, it’s high time for a non-partisan approach to coping with climate change, says a provincial Liberal leadership hopeful.

Former cabinet minister Steven Del Duca said Monday in Muskoka that the situation there is so grave that it should transcend political concerns.

The Muskoka River surges over a dam in downtown Bracebridge on Sunday. The Muskoka town is experiencing flooding due to historically high water levels this spring.

“It’s a scientific fact, not a partisan issue,” he said, pointing to the devastation caused by flooding in Bracebridge, as well as in the Ottawa region and other areas.

Del Duca said it was “big step forward” for consensus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions that Progressive Conservative Premier Doug Ford acknowledged climate change is a factor in the flooding.

Indeed, Ford did not mince words on Friday in Ottawa, saying it seems like once-in-a-century storms are now annual occurrences.

“Something is going on and we have to be conscious of it,” the premier said after examining the flood damage.

“This is absolutely heart-wrenching. It’s one thing to see it on the cameras, it’s another thing when you talk to the people face to face -- and it just rips your heart out.”

Del Duca said “it’s very clear that the province of Ontario needs to have a strong plan in place.”

The front-runner for the still-undeclared Liberal leadership race urged Ford to end his $30-million fight with the federal government over carbon pricing and use the money to fight climate change.

He also urged the premier to restore flood-protection money cut in the budget and to reinstate a tree-planting program that helps curb erosion.

As well, Del Duca said the government should strike a committee of cabinet that includes MPPs from the NDP, Liberals and Greens, as well as provincial scientists, to develop “a real plan to prepare Ontario for the impacts of climate change that lie ahead.”

“If Doug Ford does that, I will be the first to support him.”

In the legislature, Natural Resources Minister John Yakabuski said provincial officials are working with municipalities across Ontario to deal with the floods.

“Our sympathies go out to everyone across Ontario who has been dealing with flooding, including in my riding of Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke,” said Yakabuski.

“On Friday, I visited the community of Constance Bay with Premier Ford and I continued to visit communities in my riding over the weekend,” the minister said.

“As we deal with the high water levels, the provincial emergency operations centre has been fully activated. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry has been working with our partners at the Ministries of Municipal Affairs and Housing and the Solicitor General and across all three levels of government to co-ordinate an effective response,” he said.

“Together, we have personnel and supplies strategically positioned across the province to respond to the needs of municipalities as they request assistance.”