Decent audience attends climate change meeting - few got their by bicycle - far too many drove in cars by themselves.

By Pepper Parr

July 21, 2016

BURLINGTON, ON

It was more than a local town hall meeting to get people to think and act on climate change.

The meeting Oakville North Burlington MP Pam Damoff held at Tansley Woods Community centre Wednesday evening was part of a Canada wide program the federal government has put in place to hear what Canadians think and to learn just how much they are prepared to actually do individually to change the climate.

It didn’t sound like an awful lot at the Tansley Woods meeting

It was an audience that came to listen and then ask questions. Is this the way these meetings are going to take place across the country? Are we ready to make a real change – or will it be made for us?

Damoff knew she was speaking to the deeply converted and ensured that the message would be clear by having the lead person from both the Oakville and the Burlington Green associations at the table with her.

Damoff pretty much stuck to the script that had been prepared – asking people what they wanted to do and explaining that this wasn’t a problem the government was going to solve for them.

MP Pam Damoff, listening to people who attended the Town Hall meeting on Climate Change. Her son Fraser is on the right.

The key word that seemed to come up again and again was “adapt”. Climate change is here – and we certainly know that in Burlington where 191 mm of rain was dumped on the city in less than 12 hours and 300 homes were badly flooded in 2014.
All the creeks in the east end of the city broke their banks which brought about an incredible million dollar fund raising event within 100 days to cover some of the costs of repairing those 300 homes.

A Burlington Plaza flooded during the August 2014 rain storm.

Burlington has tasted climate change – for those that experienced the understanding is very deep. It is the rest of the community that needs to decide what it wants to do about a change that is vital if we are to survive. And so far Canada isn’t doing all that well.

The media release Damoff handed out said: Global temperatures have increased by about .85 degrees Celsius since 1880; Canada has warmed at twice the global average with Canada’s north warming even faster.

Last December Canada joined 195 countries who adopted the Paris Agreement which saw countries commit to limiting the global average temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius in an attempt to avoid the worst effects of climate change.

CJ Martin asking a question at the Climate Change Town Hall meeting at Tansley Woods

When asked how many people attending the meeting drove to the location in a car by themselves – most of the hands in the room were raised. The MP, with a staff of four in her constituency office, apparently all arrived in different cars.

It was justified by there not being acceptable public transit. Some people did car pool.

There were some sterling examples of what can be done. A young mother mentioned the 0 household waste plan she has put in place at her home. We want to look at just how one can do that.

Vince Fiorito, a well-known environmental advocate suggested that with global warning Canada will be able to grow new and different crops in parts of northern Canada that have given us mineral resources and not much more. Fiorito suggested parts of Canada could become a banana belt. It clearly wasn’t his best night.

People from several communities took part in the Q&A part of the meeting.

The people behind the Leaf movement were in the room advocating that the fossil fuels be left in the ground and that we pour subsidies into wind, solar and geo thermal industries.

There were numerous people with their own angles and ideas. Fraser Damoff, the MP’s son wanted to see the federal subsidies given to many in the energy industry done away with. “Stop the subsidies and let them fight it out in the market place where the most effective solution will come out on top” advised Fraser Damoff.

In what was a very Canadian meeting – meaning it was polite, people were respectful of each other and Damoff didn’t cut anyone off – ran longer than was expected.

The interest was certainly there – but then a lot of people drove home, by themselves, in their own cars.

The audience was mixed, diverse and attentive.

Still a lot of work to be done – and more to say on this meeting.

Burlington MP Karina Gould will be hold her Town Hall meeting August 4th. The federal government has its members of parliament out in the field with their ears wide open. Been a long time since we’ve seen that kind of government behavior. They are listening – are we speaking?