Letter on the environment

TREPA has received the following letter from the Minister of the Environment, Stirling Belliveau, with a request to distribute it to those who may be interested in what the government is doing.

As world leaders in recycling and waste diversion, we know that protecting the environment is about the real changes we make in our daily lives.  Past governments talked about the environment, but they left the hard work – the work of making real change – for someone else. Since coming to office, our government has been taking on that hard work. I want to recap for you some of our environmental accomplishments, and let you know that this spring, many of the initiatives we have been working on behind the scenes will begin to bear fruit.

Climate leadership.

• The last government set targets, then sat back and watched greenhouse gas emissions (GHG’s) continue to rise.  We’re taking action to meet – and exceed – the targets set out for Nova Scotia. We set the first hard caps on GHGs in Canada. Nova Scotia is the only province in Canada to place hard caps on greenhouse gas emissions in the electricity sector – an initiative that earned us awards at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen.
• When we came to office, wind power construction was stalled, and 90% of Nova Scotia’s electricity came from coal.  Past governments simply didn’t have the political will to fix these systemic problems. Our Renewable Electricity Strategy will turn around this dependence on coal. This aggressive plan will take us to 25% renewables by 2015, and 40% by 2020 – something Environmental Defence applauded as one of Canada’s top 10 Green Accomplishments of 2010.  By the end of this legislative session, that number will be law.
• As part of this strategy, last fall the Premier announced a historic agreement with the Province of Newfoundland that will give Nova Scotia access to power from Muskrat Falls via a subsea cable to Cape Breton. Not only will this project decrease our reliance on coal, but it will also provide stable and secure renewable energy for all Nova Scotians.
• The Strategy isn’t just about big, ambitions, aggressive goals: through a progressive Community Feed-In Tariff – a world first – the benefits of green power will stay in our communities.
• In April, we announced that since the greenhouse gas cap was put in place last year, emissions from Nova Scotia Power have decreased by 850,000 tonnes. That is a drop of 9% from the base year of 2007.
• I am very proud to report that on April 24th, 20% of Nova Scotians power needs were met by wind power.  This is a great accomplishment and makes clear that we are well on our way to meeting our greenhouse gas reduction targets by 2020.

Tough environmental regulation.

• One of our first legislative acts was to enact a moratorium on uranium mining – an action that previous governments refused to take.
• Previous governments refused to show leadership even as municipalities moved to restrict pesticides. Our government put in place legislation and regulations restricting non-essential pesticides in Nova Scotia.  These rules took effect this spring. On May 17th, Equiterre and the David Suzuki Foundation announced that in a comparison of existing provincial pesticide laws across Canada, Nova Scotia and Ontario now have the strictest laws in the country.
• While previous governments shied away from an indefinite ban on oil and gas exploration on Georges Bank, in the fall 2010 legislative session we introduced legislation doing just this – ensuring the long-term protection of this sensitive marine area and traditional fishing ground.
• In March, Minister MacDonell turned down an application to re-zone agricultural land in Greenwich.
• Government has listened to the concerns of Nova Scotians over drinking water and protecting their communities, and in April I joined with the Minister of Energy in announcing a review of the environmental issues associated with shale gas hydraulic fracturing (fracking).  And as we have made clear in the legislature, if a proposed activity has not demonstrated that it can be done right, it will not be approved. Please note that June 6th is the last day for public input on the scope of the hydraulic fracturing review. To contribute:

http://www.gov.ns.ca/nse/pollution prevention/consultation.hydraulic.fracturing.asp

Forest and wilderness protection

• Guided by the hard work and priorities of the Colin Stewart Forest Forum, your government made an historic $75 million investment in crown land purchases. This has allowed us to add high-value conservation lands to our crown land base – lands that will be critical in meeting Nova Scotia’s goal of 12% protection.  In early 2009, Rodney Macdonald said this kind of land purchase couldn’t be done – and even now, the opposition has described these purchases as spending money on “dirt that no one wanted but… special interests.”
• The previous government refused to advance the Chignecto and Five Bridges candidate wilderness areas – in fact, their members were vocally opposed.  We immediately set them in motion again – and we will soon take the next step towards full protection.
• Last fall we announced a new direction on forestry, including our intention to reduce clear cutting by 50% and remove government support from herbicide spraying.  The six principles enumerated by Minister MacDonell will be reflected in the upcoming Natural Resources Strategy, which we will be released this spring.  Your government is committed to a progressive new direction in forestry in Nova Scotia.

Some of these decisions aren’t easy.  The goal is always to find a balanced approach, though it’s a fact that not everyone is happy when tough environmental decisions are made. In fact, this spring, opposition members have been urging that energy conservation efforts be reduced, that protected areas be opened to motorized vehicles, and that the province delay steps to reduce clear-cutting. But we won’t shy away from making the tough decisions.  We’ll take on the hard work and make the right decisions for Nova Scotia.

It’s also important to know that for your NDP government, the environment is everyone’s responsibility.  From supporting school gardens through the Departments of Agriculture and Education; crafting a balanced, sustainable plan for aquaculture through the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture; growing green jobs and industries through Economic and Rural Development’s new CleanTech Fund; taking real steps towards establishing a sustainable tidal energy industry in the Bay of Fundy through the Department of Energy; improving the tax incentives for Nova Scotians to invest in green energy CEDIFS via Finance…your whole Cabinet takes environmental leadership seriously.

We’re not just talking differently – we’re doing things differently.  I hope you will help us to spread the word.