COALITION CALLS FOR FEDERAL INVESTMENT IN THE ENVIRONMENT

FACT SHEET
dollars and sense

HEALTHY COMMUNITIES

  • There are at least 10,000 abandoned toxic sites across Canada, 5,000 of which are on federal lands, according to the Auditor General’s office.
  • A recent report from the Canadian Institute of Child Health states that toxic exposure caused by pesticides, food additives, smog and other chemicals has likely contributed to the 25 per cent increase in childhood cancers, a four-fold increase in childhood asthma, and the dramatic rise in other childhood diseases over the past 25 years.
  • The Green Budget Coalition proposal includes: A “Clean Canada fund,” consisting of $540 million over 5 years to the Contaminated Sites Management Working Group and $2 billion in 2002 as a special allocation for relocation and removal.

PROTECTION AND CONSERVATION OF OUR NATURAL HERITAGE

  • We lose one square kilometre of wilderness every hour to industrial activities and urban and rural development. Development in wilderness areas is accelerating, limiting opportunities to secure important wilderness areas and habitat for species at risk. Virtually every existing national park is under severe stress.
  • National Parks create jobs and boost the tourism and service sectors. Canadian and U.S. tourists alone spend an estimated $11.7 billion per year on nature-related activities, and put an estimated $5.1 billion back in the public purse.
  • The Green Budget Coalition proposal includes: A $493 million investment in our nation parks, over the next five years, to maintain the ecological health and integrity of our current parks and to fulfill the government’s promise to expand the system.

CLEAN AIR AND CLIMATE CHANGE

  • The Government of Canada estimates that air pollution is responsible for the premature deaths of 16,000 Canadians each year.
  • The Ontario Medical Association has reported that not only does air pollution cost lives, but that thousands also suffer from illness due to poor air quality, costing the public $1 billion/year in Ontario alone.
  • The Green Budget Coalition proposal includes: a national program to improve the energy efficiency of Canada’s commercial and residential buildings, requiring a $300 million this fiscal year, $50 million/year every following year until 2005, and $25 million per year from 2006-2111.

GREEN BUDGET COALITION MEMBERS

Canadian Nature Federation, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, Centre for Integral Economics, David Suzuki Foundation, Ducks Unlimited Canada, Greenpeace , Miningwatch Canada, Miistakis Institute for the Rockies, Pembina Institute, Sierra Club of Canada, World Wildlife Fund, Canadian Environmental Law, Nature Conservancy of Canada, Pollution Probe, Sierra Legal Defence Fund, West Coast Environmental Law.