NDP advocate for climate action strategy

The opposition wants Ontario to be more prepared for extreme weather.

Environment Critic Peter Tabuns (TAB-in) is proposing a bill that requires the government to create a strategic action plan.

He says Ontario faces the threat of more climate-driven flooding, wildfires and windstorms.

He says weather-related incidents caused by climate change have already caused billions of dollars in damage and taken numerous lives.

Tabuns says the Ford government has yet to come forward with a robust plan to prepare for those disasters in the future.

“Our bill gives the government the powers, the funding bodies and the plans it needs to keep Ontario safe,” says Tabuns.

Tabuns says the bill is crafted from reports commissioned by the Ford government but has not reacted to.

In October, Ontario’s Auditor General reported that the province would not meet its 2030 emissions reduction target.

When a storm is coming, you don’t ignore it. You prepare for it,” says Tabuns.

Continuing to ignore the climate crisis will only put lives at risk. The time to act is now, not when floodwaters are smashing through the front door.”

The proposed bill included a dedicated fund to implement measures and an adaptation resource centre that would provide information and advice to government ministries, municipalities and the public.

It also promotes the need for a government adaptation secretariat to coordinate and assist with the implementation of climate action plans.