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TORONTO — NDP MPPs Bhutila Karpoche (Parkdale—High Park) and Peter Tabuns (Toronto—Danforth) introduced a bill urging Ontario to establish a series of action plans to prepare for and mitigate the impacts of the climate crisis.
The MPPs discussed their bill, which will be debated Wednesday in the legislature, at a virtual press conference on Tuesday morning, joined by Dr. Edward Xie, an ER doctor who is part of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment and Paul Dowsett, a sustainable architect and advocate for public housing retrofits.
The bill includes a plan to prepare Ontario's public health and health care systems for the health risks caused by the climate crisis, a public sector strategy to create jobs while reducing GHG emissions and establishing a legislative committee to address climate change-related threats facing the environment and economy.
"As we are seeing from COVID-19, a health crisis has a profound impact on our society, putting enormous strain on our health system, our economy and on the everyday lives of every single one of us," Karpoche said. "It is increasingly clear that the climate crisis will have a serious impact on human health and on society at large, and it's critical we act now to minimize the damage."
"The urgency of the climate crisis demands that we dramatically reduce our carbon footprint," Tabuns said. "The Ford government's shameful record on climate change and the environment is putting all Ontarians at risk, and we must take concrete action now to ensure the health of present and future generations."
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