[separator headline=”h2″ title=”Canada Has Tremendous Opportunities”]Let’s make nature conservation an issue in the federal election set for October 19!

Canada has tremendous opportunities to conserve our endangered species and spaces, but the time to act is now. Every year, more of Canada’s animals and plants are threatened with extinction, and many natural landscapes such as tall-grass prairie, and Acadian, Carolinian and Coastal Douglas Fir forests have been reduced to fragments. Globally, human-induced climate change is already causing major damaging impacts to people and nature through extreme weather events, drought, floods and loss of ecological services that Canadians depend on.

[separator headline=”h2″ title=”Ask Your Local Candidates for Parliament Where They Stand”]
Send a message to all federal political parties that conserving nature is important to you. Find out where the candidates and their parties stand on urgent nature issues.

Ask Your Candidates:

• Many of Canada’s environmental laws have been repealed or weakened in recent years. Will you strengthen federal laws to protect species at risk? Will you ensure that developments, such as pipelines, are required to be assessed with public hearings to achieve sustainability?
• More oil pipelines would mean more supertankers in Vancouver harbour, the Salish Sea and the Bay of Fundy, and a greater risk of a catastrophic spill like Exxon Valdez. What will you do to prevent such disasters on Canada’s seas and coasts?
• Canada is losing many of its unique wild places. What will you do to ensure that Canada meets its international law commitments to protect 17 per cent of Canada’s land areas by 2020 and 10 per cent of Canada’s ocean areas by 2020?
• Canada is not doing its fair share in reducing greenhouse-gas emissions that are causing climate change that is dangerous to people and wildlife. What will you do to ensure that Canada does its fair share in fighting climate change and moves quickly to a low-carbon economy?
• Fewer Canadians than ever hike, canoe, bicycle, birdwatch, visit parks or explore the great outdoors and more Canadians are experiencing health problems such as obesity. How will you encourage Canadians to get healthier through outdoor nature activities?
• Investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency and other green technologies would have a positive impact on jobs and economic growth in Canada. How will you encourage Canada’s emerging green economy?

Strong leadership supported by active and engaged citizens is needed to address the urgent threats of biodiversity loss and climate change, and seize the opportunities to move to a green, low-carbon economy and connect Canadians to nature.

Tell Canada’s leaders where you stand – vote for nature in 2015!