Health in general, including the right to a clean and healthy environment, continues to be important to Canadians. Climate change has, appropriately, taken a front seat in the current election, with the main political parties suggesting very different ways to deal with it.
But they’ve barely mentioned other environmental problems, which is troubling, given that pollution and loss of biodiversity are occurring faster than the legislative initiatives meant to slow them down.
In a ranking by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development of 34 high-income countries according to their environmental record, between 2018 and 2020, Canada dropped from 10th to 12th place.
Canadians could be encouraged by the existence of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA). When it was enacted in 1999, the legislation was forward-thinking and ambitious. It lay the groundwork for a sustainable society, supported by enforceable regulations to implement some lofty ideals.