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Submitted by Sue McKenzie, Climate Action Muskoka
Climate Action Muskoka’s (CAM) ambitious climate emergency resolution is on its way back to Muskoka District Council as part of the District’s A New Leaf: Muskoka’s Climate Strategy after the report received unanimous support from the District’s Community and Planning Services committee (CPSC) at its meeting Thursday, November 19.
“This is a bold climate framework for Muskoka with timelines, goals, and broad community input. It acknowledges the important role both the District of Muskoka and the community must play together to address the mounting climate crisis,” said Sue McKenzie, co-founder of CAM after the meeting.
The report, developed by Kevin Boyle, the District’s climate change initiatives co-ordinator, Christy Doyle, director of environmental and watershed programs, and the MCCAP steering committee includes the detailed Muskoka Corporate Climate Action Plan (MCCAP).
Committee chair, councillor Nancy Alcock, suggested that staff needs to hold council’s feet to the fire to ensure the strategy is implemented.
“This isn’t us holding council’s feet to the fire,” responded Boyle. “This is everybody holding everybody’s feet to the fire. This is a co-ordinated effort that crosses all departments in the District. This is council holding staff’s feet to the fire, community groups holding staff and council’s feet to the fire. It’s the watershed council and Climate Action Muskoka. It’s a unified approach that means we move these actions forward.”
Councillors expressed enthusiasm about the possibility of taking the climate strategy back to their area municipal councils.
“I’m so amazed to see how quickly this morphed from a plan into a strategy,” said councillor Mike Peppard. “I very much look forward to seeing how this can go to the area municipalities and how we can work with this plan instead of reinventing the wheel.”
A New Leaf: Muskoka’s Climate Strategy will come before Muskoka District Council on Monday, December 21 for a final vote. Its passing will set Muskoka on the road to dealing with the climate emergency.
CAM invites citizens, groups and businesses to join its community-wide project to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 50 per cent by 2030. Sign up to take the 50 per cent by 2030 Community Carbon Challenge at climateactionmuskoka.org
Climate Action Muskoka is an inclusive, non-partisan group of citizens concerned about climate change in Muskoka who believe in working together to inspire individuals, groups, and every level of government to make the dramatic changes needed to meet this historic climate challenge.
[See a PDF of the presentation to committee here and the report to committee which includes a copy of A New Leaf: Muskoka’s Climate Strategy here.]
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Christine Rivière-Anderson says
Congratulations to the CAM group as well as to Kevin Boyle and Christy Doyle for all their hard work preparing and presenting this bold and thorough proposal to the District.
We must not forget that climate emergency is a very real concern and that it cannot be swept under the carpet because of the pandemic.
Bravo again and let’s keep working on this crucial issue. We all stand to benefit from it.
Do join us in taking the Community Carbon Challenge.
Christine Rivière-Anderson (CAM member)
Paul Kuebler says
This is wonderful news, amid such bleak news from Queens Park. This is District Council’s opportunity to lead the Province by example. Congratulations to CPSC and to CAM to being the Leaders. We hope, pray and stand by you, in watching District Council’s vote on December 21st.
Paul Whillans says
I find it hard to understand what is being celebrated here.
Here is what the co-founder of Climate Action Muskoka said about the District’s reslution.
“It constitutes a mere token declaration with no ‘teeth’, no goals, no community input, no plan, in short, nothing to hold the District of Muskoka to addressing the mounting climate crisis,” said Sue McKenzie, co-founder of CAM after the meeting.”
But then we have the usual suspects (Alcock; Doyle aka local cheerleaders) saying that they will hold “council’s feet to the fire”
Melinda Zytaruk, CAM’s presenter summed the District resolution best ,:
“Declaring there is a climate emergency with no commitments attached is like saying the earth is round or photosynthesis happens,” Zytaruk added.
And where was the Doppler in the reporting the actual facts of such a significant local issue?…….Just another happy-face cheerleader…….Not even pretending to be “journalists”