Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

Sisters and Brothers:

This year, on April 22, over 500 million people in more than 100 countries will be celebrating International Earth Day. Some 6 million Canadians will participate in Earth Day events in schools, community groups, youth groups, unions, and environmental organizations. Nearly all school children in Canada will participate in an Earth Day event.

Across Canada, there is widespread support for protecting the environment. According to the David Suzuki Foundation, nine out of ten Canadians rate the environment as one of their top concerns, and eight out of ten Canadians believe that environmental protection should be given priority over economic growth.

Despite this widespread popular support, successive federal governments have systematically dismantled environment programs and replaced them with rhetoric and little substance. Canada is sadly one of the world’s most wasteful nations in terms of excessive energy consumption, water use, and greenhouse gas emissions. Our performance on the majority of environmental indicators is worsening. Clearly, there is a gap between our environmental values and our poor environmental record.

Read John Gordon’s Earth Day message at the national website.