BarrieToday welcomes letters to the editor at [email protected]. Please include your full name, daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). The following letter is in response to 'Mayoral candidates discuss environment at Living Green debate,' published Oct. 7.
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I watched the mayoral debate on the environment hosted by Living Green Barrie and the Simcoe County Greenbelt Coalition.
Alex Nuttall’s response to the issue of reducing the city’s greenhouse gas emissions was that we need more measurables in place.
This comment demonstrates a lack of basic knowledge a mayor should have on an issue for which we have declared an emergency.
All municipalities have been required to inventory and report on their greenhouse gas emissions since 2013, so the measurables are there.
The latest reporting can be easily found on the province’s website here.
The other explanation for the comment is that Mr. Nuttall may share the view about human-caused climate change as Maxime Bernier — that it doesn’t exist, which is likely since Mr. Nuttall worked on Bernier’s leadership campaign.
This is a familiar approach of climate deniers, that before we act we need to collect more data. This is analogous to saying “before we try to put out this fire, we should measure how much water the bucket holds.”
Barrie needs a leader that understands the urgency to act, and knows the plan we have in place.
Geri Poisson
Barrie
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