Tsatsisnukwomi, Da’naxda’xw – The Green Party of Canada is bringing attention to the growing biodiversity crisis caused partly by the global forestry industry operating in Canada and is calling on the government of Canada to do more than spot conservation before it’s too late.
“We need a more holistic approach to resource management that is responsible and respectful, that values the gifts of the Creator more than consumable products. We need to look beyond simply conserving a small fraction of nature while extracting the rest and start treating forests as sacred because they are,” said Rainbow Eyes, deputy leader of the Green Party of Canada. “Colonialism has fed us the lie that we are separate from nature and can survive without it. Still, Indigenous law recognizes the sacredness of the trees and that their value goes beyond a company’s bottom line.”
“Forests are more than wood to be sold to the highest bidder, more than pellets to be burned, they provide clean air, soil, and water, without which we’d cease to exist. Forests also provide vital habitat to species critical to our survival, like the Spotted Owl, Woodland Caribou, and Specklebelly Lichen, which are at risk because their homes are being logged and burned. Scientists are working around the clock to protect these species on Vancouver Island, the Fraser River, and elsewhere.”
Deputy Leader Luc Joli-Coeur indicated that urgent action is needed to protect the forest caribou in Québec from extinction, “The federal government should have acted earlier to protect the forest caribou in Québec. Moreover, it is irresponsible to pretend, like the Bloc Québécois, that there is insufficient evidence that the caribou are in danger. We need to stop listening to the lobby and take urgent action.”
"Canadian governments assume that forests are exclusively under provincial jurisdiction. That is not the case.”, said Elizabeth May, MP for Saanich-Gulf Islands. “The management of the exploitation of forests for economic activity is provincial but the federal government has responsibility for biodiversity and for climate, with shared jurisdiction. The Supreme Court decision on carbon pricing makes that clear. So protecting old growth, managing the forest carbon budget is shared, and largely federal jurisdiction in a climate emergency."
Green Party of Canada Interim Leader Dr. Amita Kutter added, “We are living out of balance with the ecosystems that sustain us. We need fundamental system change. Planting more trees and shaming people for not recycling enough won’t solve this crisis.”
The Green Party of Canada calls for the federal government to:
- End unsustainable wood pellet “forestry” and investigate Drax Group’s dominant position
- Implement a Charter of Rights for Nature to ensure the rights of ecosystems, as it is with human rights, are treated as more sacred than property and corporate profit
- Work with provincial and territorial governments and Indigenous communities and governments to protect old-growth forests on public, crown, and private land
Gilakas’la
Rainbow Eyes, Ooh-Mah Ah-nise, Deputy Leader of the Green Party of Canada
Luc Joli-Coeur, Deputy Leader of the Green Party of Canada
Elizabeth May, MP for Saanich - Gulf Islands
Dr. Amita Kuttner, Interim Leader of the Green Party of Canada
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