With Canada's climate policies under fire and a new provincial budget that will slow down the ecological transition, recent heat records around the world remind us that climate change is not taking a break.
It’s the beginning of the end for Roulez vert - the Quebec government’s financial assistance on the purchase of an electric vehicle. The program, which has helped to make electric cars more mainstream, will end in 2027. The basis of the government’s phase out is that there are more efficient ways to reduce emissions in the transportation sector - and on this we agree. So what are the next steps? Équiterre has been recommending a feebate system to counter the trend of oversized vehicles on our roads,as well as better investment in public transit to give Quebecers more alternatives to solo driving.
Agriculture
Our farmland is quickly disappearing
Though only 2% of Quebec’s land is cultivable, we’ve somehow been losing massive amounts of farmland to industrial development and urban sprawl. It’s a major issue for our food security. So we’re calling on all Quebecers to stand up and defend our farmland with us. There are many ways to get involved: have a look at the recording of our webinar on the issues and solutions to protect our farmland (in French), join us for a webinar on the mobilization tools at your disposal (also in French), and write to the government to call for swift action (in English!).
Too many children in Quebec are not eating healthy food
Canada is the only G7 country without a national school food program, and in Quebec, a growing number of children (200,000!) are dealing with food insecurity. That’s why we’re calling on the Quebec government to establish a universal school food program that would provide healthy meals at an affordable price in all public schools in the province. 10,000 people have already signed the petition. If you haven’t yet, please add your name!
Reduction at the source
Canadians are among the biggest consumers on the planet
If all of the world’s population lived like Canadians, we would have already consumed all the renewable natural resources that the Earth can regenerate in a single year by March 15… Our economic system encourages us to keep buying, wasting and throwing out. Canada is among the five countries that consume the most resources per capita. It would take 4.9 planets to meet the needs of the global population if everyone consumed the way we do. How did this happen and what can we do about it?
Please support Équiterre’s work on agriculture, healthy food,
