Environment leaders say feds need to push sustainability as budget nears

OTTAWA — Environment leaders are warning the federal Liberals not to turn away from their plan to build the next federal budget around climate change, despite global economic uncertainty as the COVID-19 crisis deepens.

The executive director of the Climate Action Network Canada says she understands there will be a temptation to “double down on the status quo.”

But Catherine Abreu says the next decade will define Canada’s role in a new global green economy.

A coalition of environment, labour, social justice, Indigenous and faith-based organizations are on Parliament Hill this morning urging Ottawa to focus the budget on renewable energy and clean technology, not fossil fuels.

Abreu says providing investment support to encourage Canadian banks to put money into clean energy, as well as training to prepare workers for new kinds of employment, are essential.

Abreu says overhauling Canada’s homes and buildings to make them energy-efficient could be a massive job-creation moment for the entire country all by itself.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 10, 2020.

The Canadian Press