FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Unceded Algonquin Territory, Ottawa, ON – September 8, 2021

The federal parties have all released their election platforms and Nature Canada has begun to review their planks and compare them to Nature Canada’s Nature Platform. The Nature Platform presents 5 policy planks needed to halt and reverse nature loss:

1. Protect at least 30% of lands, freshwater, and ocean by 2030
2. Support Indigenous-led nature conservation
3. Invest in nature’s crucial role in fighting climate change
4. Restore urban biodiversity and expand access to green space for all
5. Advance environmental justice and prevent environmental racism.

Nature Canada’s Policy team would be happy to respond to questions in writing about our reactions to the parties’ platforms and how they compare to our ask for a credible plan to halt and reverse nature loss. Please email your questions to media@naturecanada.ca.

“The good news is that Canadian voters have made it clear that halting and reversing nature loss is a priority issue for them this election,” says Graham Saul, Executive Director for Nature Canada. “Now Canadians need to decide if the parties’ promises go far enough.”

Saul points out that Nature Canada in coalition with other ENGOs engaged with all of the parties before the election to make the case for including a credible plan to halt and reverse nature loss in their platforms. “It’s pretty clear that we made a good case for nature protection given the dual crises of climate change and species loss,” says Saul. “People are writing to the party leaders and to the debate commission. They’re talking to their local candidates about nature and attending environmental debates. It’s a total mobilization of nature-lovers.” 

But there is a wide range in how the parties’ platforms stack up, according to Nature Canada’s Director of Campaigns and Policy, Gauri Sreenivasan.

“Our priority is to get a government with a full plan to protect and restore nature–and that includes commitments for new funding,” says Sreenivasan. “We’re looking for the whole package. When you look at each party, there are still gaps that underestimate the urgency of the crisis. Hopefully, the Nature Platform will help nature voters decide who has a credible plan and who doesn’t.”

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For more information contact: 

Scott Mullenix 
media@naturecanada.ca