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Letter to the editor: Government ignores big problems while piling on more promises

The next climate crisis will be potable water while every level of government push for high density to accommodate new immigrants.
city of delta drinking water
Drinking water a huge issue on the horizon for Canada, this letter writer argues.

On April 20, Jerry DeMarco released the commissioned report on Climate Change and how Canada is doing to meet targets.

To quote: “With these most recent reports the list of failures grows longer. Yet again, unlike the obviousness of an immediate pandemic the twin crisis of climate change and biodiversity loss are chronic, insidious and too often ignored because their gravity becomes apparent over the primarily long term.”

Mr. DeMarco’s words struck me and how they could be applied to government failures in our eroding healthcare; dismal mental healthcare; growing homeless population; critical shortage of affordable housing, public safety in most cities, and now a federal government strike.  The prime minister proudly welcomed one million new immigrants last year, with many premiers decrying the strain on housing and basic social supports.

You could fill the twin crisis across the spectrum for Canadians struggling in a post-pandemic world. The economy continues to trump humanity with announcements of spending $13 billion on natural resources for electric vehicles, billions in subsidies to help gas and oil transition, approval of more timber licences, mining extraction, tripling the size of the Port of Vancouver to increase freighter traffic.  All these announcements of building Canada’s global economy while assuring Canadians climate change is about protecting our environment? For a country struggling with a housing/healthcare crisis, how is one million new citizens in 365 days good for Canadians finding affordable housing and a doctor? 

From a First Nation perspective, this is a disastrous plan for the next seven generations! Once again children will pay the most precious price for the insatiable appetite to compete in the global economy.  We have millions on the move from around the world to survive, while our government fails to solve our insidious healthcare, growing homeless, mental health reaching epidemic levels, lack of senior care and senior healthcare, many senior and working families turning to food banks, and the prime minister’s answer is dental care and childcare to 20 per cent of the population. If not for the NDP, the Liberals would not have voted in favour of these NDP bills.

Failure to bring real change to deal with climate disasters, we now see the same critical condition in our healthcare; housing; doctor and nursing shortages; affordable childcare for working families; education costs for students; affordable housing for the majority of our workers amidst a pandemic of mistrust. For a government who preaches about building the middle class they can’t seem to apply ideology to their own workforce.  These words should ring hollow from a prime minister taking credit for something he has limited control - middle class jobs are in the hands of the private sector. 

Affordability is the price we are all paying for fossil fuel dependency, government failures to deal with climate change 30 years ago is the cost we pay today, even with government subsidies. Yes, this is a global problem and the direct cause is humans. The next climate crisis will be potable water while every level of government push for high density to accommodate new immigrants.

Many regions in BC have run out of water under intense heat, low precipitation and every city has water restrictions to accommodate all this building.  Yet government ignores how to prepare for this with one million new homes. Canada has many of “their” owned and operated First Nation reserves who after 200 years still lack drinking water? This is a cautionary tale to those regions who run out of water and earlier water restrictions for every high-density city today.

The old economy was “drill baby drill to get the last drop of oil.” The new one is to use potable water for the building of one million new homes for “high density” communities.  It took 30 years of ignoring impacts of fossil fuels on climate.  In 30 years, our children will see the same foot dragging, excuse making while they struggle to conserve evaporating fresh water.   So, while it is convenient for the elected to ignore humans are the cause of climate change, Canadians will be asked in 2024 to trust politicians to solve obvious problems with pie in the sky promises.

Jo-Anne Berezanski

Victoria