compare NB provincial party policies on environment

an ideal environment policy

The following compiles environment policies proposed by various responsible NGOs

• All New Brunswickers have the right to clean air, water and natural environment. Government must provide appropriate penalties and enforcement measures to protect New Brunswick ecosystems, the homes and vital resources (wells, watersheds, forests) of our citizens and future generations. There must be no exceptions or shortcuts for specific industries, e.g. hydraulic fracturing
• Government must offer visionary leadership for responsible development, stewardship, conservation, renewal and eliminating risks to or degradation of our natural environment; The triple bottom line standard of the UN ICLEI is a good starting point.
• Establish an Environmental Bill of Rights that acknowledges the fact that that we are all dependent on the natural environment for our physical, social, cultural and economic well being
• Develop and implement environmental policy to achieve and maintain a level of ecological integrity that permits the ecosystems to provide for current and future generations of humans and other species
• Develop and implement climate change adaptation policy to address global climactic change and reverse its negative impact in the province
• Acknowledge and eliminate risks and threats to environmental and public health from the commercial and consumer use of persistent toxins
• Guarantee all citizens the “right to know” about environmental and health threats in their communities, e.g. hydraulic chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing in NB
• Provide the public and decision-makers with policy, knowledge and financial resources for the sustainable development and use of natural resources and alternatives to environmentally destructive practices, e.g. before engaging in a controversial practice, extensive periods of consultation with equally funded efforts to investigate and propose alternatives to the controversial practice
• Provide citizens with the right to petition the government and access to the justice system for investigations of environmental harm or threats to environmental health to prevent environmental harm or threats to health. Protect whistle-blowers, citizens and their organizations against malicious actions or lawsuits intended to discourage public activism (strategic lawsuits against public participation or SLAPP suits) for environmental protection.
• Appoint an environmental ombudsman as an officer of the Legislature.
• Require inter-ministerial and inter-governmental collaboration to protect ecosystems and investigate environmental harm or threats to environmental health to bridge industrial, commercial, consumer, conventional science and traditional ecological knowledge and research related to human activities being conducted that have or may have an impact on provincial ecosystems
• Strengthen the powers of arm's length, independent boards to regulate activities and achieve the humanistic, environmental, economic and social goals of environment policy
• Require consultation with First Nations to ensure that traditional ecological knowledge plays a critical role in planning, decision-making and development in the province and provides for the physical, social, cultural and economic well being of current and future generations of New Brunswick's First Peoples; Recognize vetoes where decisions are irreversible and also strongly opposed by Wabanaki Confederacy, Migmag Grand Council and other universally acknowledged authorities including both on- and off-reserve, status and non-status Indians.
• Provide universally acceptable terminology related to sustainability and sustainable development to reflect the province's commitment and intent to maintain a level of ecological integrity and resiliency that considers the environmental, economic, social and cultural impact of human activities and strives to harmoniously integrate and balance these factors
• Reduce and eliminate the negative environmental impact of consumer and business purchases and support social and environmental protection programs by applying direct fees for consumption, pollution and waste recovery and management.
• Introduce legislation to apply the Precautionary Principle and ban the release of persistent toxins and chemicals into air, lands and waters which are known or strongly suspected to damage environmental and public health. Suggestion: Safe Chemicals Act

References

• Conservation Council of New Brunswick
• International Institute of Concern for Public Health (IICPH)
• New Brunswick Environmental Network
• [1] Pays de Cocagne Sustainable Development Group Inc.
• Green Party of New Brunswick
• [2] New Democratic Party Fundy Royal-New Brunswick
• New Brunswick Liberal Association
• New Brunswick Conservative Party
• Democratic Revolution
• Edward Hoyt Independent Fundy-River Valley
• We Take Care of Our Land