Environmental Leadership Starts Here in Prince George-Peace River

August 3, 2005

Every week I receive literally hundreds of emails, letters and faxes. Last week however I received a letter I can’t stop thinking about.

The letter was short. Just five sentences long. The letter-writer expressed concern about litter, industrial waste and Canada’s environment. So inspiring was this letter, I sent it to the Prime Minister of Canada. The letter was written by a resident of Fort St. John. Her name is Sandra. She is 10 years old.

I can’t stop thinking about her letter because I feel my response to her was inadequate. Inadequate because I wanted to give Sandra hope that action is being taken to safeguard our environment. I don’t think I did.

I talked to her about the Kyoto Protocol, but I had to admit it wouldn’t fulfill her request to “make our country a cleaner and healthier place to live”. Sandra is a very astute ten-year-old because she also wrote: “The government should spend more of its tax money on the needs of the people and not on the needs of the government.”

That’s the problem with the Kyoto accord. The federal Liberal government has put taxpayers on the hook for $10-billion for it, but other than huge increases in the cost of electricity, gas and natural gas, Kyoto mainly addresses carbon dioxide emissions – not particulates and other chemical pollutants that create smog.

Plus, the government doesn’t even have a plan to meet Canada’s emission targets, meaning we’ll likely face penalties and/or be forced to buy costly emission credits from other countries allowed to pollute because they’re considered “developing”. Worse, half the team of federal officials attempting to develop a ‘Kyoto Implementation Plan’ just quit in frustration!


I told Sandra that the Conservative Party wants to encourage Canadians to use more transitional fuels (propane, natural gas, ethanol) and to develop alternative energy sources (biomass, solar, wind, geothermal and hydrogen fuel). However, I didn’t provide Sandra with tangible evidence that someone, somewhere is doing something to respect our environment.

So I’d like to tell Sandra about Chetwynd.

The people of Chetwynd wanted to beautify their streets with trees and decorative lights. Yet it takes energy to power those lights every night of the year, and with that in mind, the District of Chetwynd decided to build four windmills.

Last month I attended a ceremony to commend Chetwynd Mayor Evan Saugstad and council on these windmills that generate power for 5,250 energy-efficient LED lights beautifully placed among the community’s trees. This demonstration in environmental leadership has set an example for the rest of British Columbia and the entire country to follow. It happened right here at home in Prince George-Peace River and I couldn’t be prouder.

Ultimately, I believe that project-by-project and with encouragement and incentive, it is these practical made-in-Canada solutions, not a multi-billion dollar bureaucratic program, that will preserve our air, water and soil for future generations.

Perhaps by the time Sandra’s children are old enough to write to their Member of Parliament, Chetwynd’s environmental foresight will exist in every community across Canada.

-30-