There’s always a wave of announcements before the end of the parliamentary sessions. From transport, to energy, economy, and land use planning - in a context where disinformation has complicated our news feeds. These important issues will be keeping Équiterre busy in the coming months, and we encourage you to discuss them with your friends and family this summer.
With the summer season come heat waves. We must protect ourselves and those around us, and our governments must take ambitious action to stop climate change and heat waves from getting worse.
But summer is also such a great time to recharge our batteries with our loved ones, or to take to the roads of our belle province on a bike or an electric vehicle. Enjoy!
Mobility
What do cigarettes and polluting vehicles have in common?
Beyond toxic substances and pollution, the tobacco industry and the gas-powered automobile industry have used similar advertising tactics to market their products. We’re talking about idealized images of people using these products, without any reference to their harmful impacts on public health and the environment.
In a new report, Équiterre demonstrates how the regulations that have been put in place for the tobacco industry could be used as a model for regulating the advertising, sale and use of polluting vehicles. The Canadian government has banned the sale of new gas-powered cars as of 2035. It makes no sense to let the auto industry promote a product that we have chosen to ban!
Regulating advertising is therefore a logical step. A Léger pollshows that the majority of Quebecers support stricter regulation on car advertising. Do you agree? If you haven’t already, pleasesign our petition!
Call on the government to regulate car advertising
Setting the table to rediscover Indigenous food knowledge
Food has the power to reconnect us to the land, and that’s especially true for the Indigenous communities that have lived on the land for time immemorial.
Équiterre is participating in anew projectinitiated by our partner, Farm to Cafeteria Canada, which humbly seeks to support Indigenous schools in developing projects to help teach their students to cultivate, preserve and serve traditional food. This initiative is an extension of the many sustainable food projects that Équiterre has worked on in Quebec schools over the years.
Mobility
From joy to exasperation for transportation in Quebec City
We celebrated a great victory for transportation in the Quebec City region, when Premier Legault finally gave the green light to the tramway project, upon the recommendation of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ Infra).
But the joy was short lived when the government subsequently announced the return of the 3rd Link highway project between Lévis and Quebec City, going against the recommendations of many specialists, including CPDQ Infra, which stated that the 3rd Link would not respond to the mobility needs of the region.
Équiterre and our partners are now waiting for words to translate into action to get the tramway project going. We can’t afford any more delays or additional costs. Because public transit is a necessary investment in societal well-being - for the ecological transition, for access to employment and housing, for reducing congestion on our roads and pollution in our air.
Help us pursue our work for public transit and sustainable food
