Nature Canada

‘Green’ the federal budget, says coalition of environmental groups

November 26, 2013 (OTTAWA) – A large coalition of leading environmental groups today unveiled their final recommendations for the federal government’s upcoming 2014 budget. Collectively, the recommendations are a revenue-neutral way for Canada to ‘green’ its budget without adding a nickel to the federal debt.

The recommendations come from the Green Budget Coalition (GBC), which represents 14 of Canada’s leading environmental and conservation organizations, including Nature Canada. The three feature recommendations for Budget 2014 — supporting responsible resource development, securing Canada’s natural heritage and protecting its fresh water — would create important environmental, economic and human health benefits, as well as provide direct and ongoing net financial savings for the federal government.

“These recommendations have been carefully tailored to help the government realize its Throne Speech goal that ‘We must seize this moment to secure prosperity, for Canadians now, and the generations to follow’,” said GBC Chair George Finney.

The GBC’s final recommendations also highlight ten complementary opportunities for the federal government. These include sustainable energy for northern and remote communities, energy storage, infrastructure resilience and infrastructure for First Nations communities, achieving Canada’s climate target, global climate action, electric vehicles, liability regimes for the Arctic offshore and nuclear power, science capacity, and principles and strategies for a green economy and sustainable Canada.

Representatives from the GBC will be meeting this week with key policymakers, leading MPs and senior government officials, to discuss these Budget 2014 recommendations.

“With these recommendations, Canada finds itself in the enviable position where the right thing to do also happens to be the affordable and economical thing to do,” said Ian Davidson, Executive Director of Nature Canada.

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[separator headline=”h2″ title=”About Nature Canada”]

Nature Canada is the oldest national nature conservation non-profit organization in Canada. It is also the largest grassroots nature conservation organization in the country with a network of hundreds of local affiliates and provincial affiliate organizations in every province.

In 2013, Nature Canada was named as one of Canada’s top environmental charities by Charity Intelligence.

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The Green Budget Coalition brings together the collective expertise of fourteen of Canada’s leading environmental and conservation organizations, representing over 600,000 Canadians, to present an analysis of the most pressing issues regarding environmental sustainability in Canada and to make a consolidated annual set of recommendations to the federal government regarding strategic fiscal and budgetary opportunities.

Read the complete report: Green Budget Coalition Recommendations for Budget 2014

[separator headline=”h2″ title=”For more information or to arrange interviews, please contact:”]

Paul Jorgenson, Senior Communications Manager, 613-562-3447 ext. 248, pjorgenson@naturecanada.ca; or

Monica Tanaka, Communications Coordinator, 613-562-3447 ext 241, mtanaka@naturecanada.ca; or

Andrew Van Iterson, Manager, Green Budget Coalition; 613-562-3447 ext. 243, avaniterson@naturecanada.ca.

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