You won’t find too many people around here arguing against the fact that the best part about living in Parry Sound-Muskoka is our natural environment. From the earthy shades of Precambrian rock against the backdrop of an azure sky to the deep, dark waters beneath surrounded by a hardy ecosystem and wind-blown trees — we live in one of the most beautiful parts of this country. But this country, known outside for its vast terrain, prolific wildlife and cold beauty could be under serious threat at both the federal and provincial levels.
Both levels of government have released lean budgets, as they try to pay down debt and encourage economic prosperity during tough economic times. The problem is, they may be sacrificing long-term prosperity for short-term gain.
Harper’s first budget as a majority government is raising red flags. Weakening Canada’s Fisheries Act and environmental review process around major resource projects, such as oil pipes and mines, is a red herring. It means the budget has been designed for big oil, instead of hard-working Canadian families who depend on their government to protect the water they drink and the air they breathe.
They may not represent big money the way the tar sands and the oil industry do, which pays its workers an obscene amount of money for a very volatile existence, but they are taxpayers who cherish their health, the health of the ecosystems that surround them and the heath of the communities they live in. They support innovation, the creation of sustainable jobs and progressive rather than regressive economic development.
Instead, this government is making core cuts to legislation and ministries that protect nature and our overall health, while it maintains billion-dollar subsidies for the gas and oil industries and cuts back on research into new and cleaner technologies. That is certainly a mentality devoid of sustainable plans for the future.
On the provincial front, McGuinty’s Liberals are doing something similar. They’re cutting back at the Ministry of Natural Resources and easing off on the enforcement of legislation protecting species at risk in this province. What they’re really doing is cutting back on MNR offices and staff under the guise of looking at the macro approach to protecting ecosystems rather than individual components. If you buy that, we’ve got some swampland in Florida we’d like to talk to you about.
Our parks and natural resources are what make us proud to live in a strong, majestic, and economically sound nation. That’s why the management of our resources is so important. Economic prosperity and sound environmental protection do not have to preclude one another.