Question 1:
“Now that the consumer carbon tax has been eliminated, how will your government fund Canada’s clean energy transition?”
- Peyman Askari (PPC): Questions source of funding, emphasizes individual responsibility, skeptical of subsidy approaches.
- Jäger Rosenberg (NDP): Suggests cutting fossil fuel subsidies, increasing industrial carbon tax, and implementing wealth taxes.
- Lauren Greenlaw (Green): Advocates defunding fossil fuel industries, taxing large corporations, and stronger enforcement against greenwashing.
- Patrick Weiler (Liberal): Clarifies carbon tax neutrality, supports increased industrial polluter charges, proposes credit incentives for individuals.
Question 2:
“How would your government reverse nature loss and meet Canada’s 30% protection target by 2030?”
- Rosenberg: Supports federal funding for provincial and local efforts; emphasizes microplastics as a critical environmental issue.
- Greenlaw: Stresses municipal involvement and wildlife corridor creation; calls for watershed protections.
- Weiler: Highlights Canada’s international leadership, existing nature agreements, financial leveraging, and prioritizing high-biodiversity areas.
- Askari: Rejects further protection of Crown lands, proposes privatization and self-sufficiency as solutions.
Question 3:
“What are the three most critical environmental challenges facing Canada?”
- Greenlaw: Climate change, biodiversity loss, plastics crisis. Calls for defunding fossil fuels, wildlife corridor protections, and tackling the plastics lobby.
- Weiler: Climate change, biodiversity, chemical pollution. Advocates stronger enforcement of the Species at Risk Act and robust scientific research.
- Askari: Urbanization, plastics, ocean pollution; emphasizes individual responsibility over governmental action.
- Rosenberg: Climate crisis, chemical/plastic pollution, freshwater scarcity; emphasizes industrial responsibility and education on conservation.
Question 4:
“What is your party’s view on a coast-to-coast renewable electricity grid?”
- Weiler: Supports federally funded grid interconnections, leveraging renewable sources like wind, solar, and geothermal.
- Askari: Questions financial viability, prefers individual solutions like solar, opposes subsidies.
- Rosenberg: Fully supportive; advocates local renewable projects and federal infrastructure investment.
- Greenlaw: Cautions against long-distance energy loss; proposes localized solutions and battery storage technologies.
Question 5:
“Will you bring back the housing co-op program?”
- Askari: Open to co-ops to prevent social strife and ensure youth empowerment.
- Rosenberg: Strongly supportive, critical of previous governmental privatization efforts.
- Greenlaw: Fully supportive, emphasizing community-building and resource sharing.
- Weiler: Highlights recent Liberal investment, pledges further support and expansion.
Question 6:
“Mark Carney wants Canada as an energy superpower. What does this mean?”
- Rosenberg: Criticizes Carney’s fossil fuel investments, doubts sincerity on climate action.
- Greenlaw: Equates Carney’s stance with continued fossil fuel expansion.
- Weiler: Advocates a shift from conventional to clean energy; emphasizes Canada’s potential in renewable energy sectors.
- Askari: Interprets Carney’s stance as a strategic response to trade and geopolitical pressures.
Question 7:
“How to expand industries that are creating value-added products rather than exporting raw materials?”
- Greenlaw: Calls for revitalization of domestic industries such as lumber milling and textiles.
- Weiler: Emphasizes removing interprovincial trade barriers and creating domestic markets for Canadian products.
- Askari: Advocates tax reforms, protectionism, and regulatory streamlining to attract industries.
- Rosenberg: Supports government intervention to retain local manufacturing, encourages consumer buy-local practices.
Question 8:
“What is your policy on LNG local use and export?”
- Weiler: No local LNG use; emphasizes emissions caps and environmental assessments for exports.
- Askari: Supports LNG export for economic growth and industry revival.
- Rosenberg: Skeptical of new LNG investment, prefers regulatory strictness and alternative renewable energy sources.
- Greenlaw: Opposes LNG expansion, criticizes negative environmental impacts and insufficient market viability.
Question 9:
“How would your government respect Indigenous knowledge in conservation?”
- Askari: Emphasizes respect and consultation; supports property rights.
- Rosenberg: Highlights Canada’s historical injustices, supports Indigenous-led environmental stewardship.
- Greenlaw: Advocates cultural reconciliation, language revitalization, and genuine governance engagement.
- Weiler: Promotes partnership-based conservation initiatives and funding Indigenous Guardian programs.
Question 10:
“How will your government enforce the Species at Risk Act?”
- Rosenberg: Focus on real conservation, public education, and wildlife conflict prevention.
- Greenlaw: Calls for a rigorous scientific approach, habitat protection, and wildlife corridors.
- Weiler: Stresses scientific research, increased recovery strategies, and cooperative intergovernmental efforts.
- Askari: Highlights cultural education and personal responsibility; raises concern about the impact of population growth on biodiversity.