Sustainable Severn Sound …

Sustainable Severn Sound (SSS) is a regional sustainability not-for-profit funded and directed by 7 of the municipalities in the southern Georgian Bay area (Towns of Midland and Penetanguishene, Townships of Georgian Bay, Severn, Oro-Medonte, Tiny and Tay). Beyond these partners, we also work in collaboration with the North Simcoe Community Futures Development Corporation (NSCFDC), the Severn Sound Environmental Association (SSEA), and the Simcoe-Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU). SSS works with these partners to (1) educate municipalities and their communities on sustainable practices and policies and connect them to resources, tools and funding, (2) to advance the adoption of practices/policies within municipal operations to support climate change action, greenhouse gas mitigation and sustainable communities, and (3) to advocate for sustainable environmental, social and economic practices and policies at the direction of the partner municipalities.

In collaboration with our municipal and community partners, SSS developed a Local Climate Change Action Plan (LCCAP). The LCCAP includes the development of a community-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory, the setting of corporate and community GHG reduction targets, and the creation of a Local Action Plan. Initiatives arising from the LCCAP will seek to reduce overall GHG emissions in the region while also delivering on municipal energy conservation goals and positively impacting the economic, social and environmental sustainability of our local communities.

After reviewing the Cap and Trade Cancellation Act, 2018 SSS submits the following comments:

1. The Province has a significant role to play in the response to climate change. The faster and more effective the response by the Province, the less costs that will be incurred by the Province and by municipalities.

2. Current and projected change impacts will directly affect the services provided by our local municipalities, and those services greatly influence the quality of life experienced by the residents of our communities.

3. The province should support and encourage collaboration and coordinated climate change planning between smaller municipalities’, as this approach presents the opportunity to improve and expand regional-level planning and service delivery, and enhance both mitigation and adaptation activities at the municipal-scale.

4. Rural and semi-rural communities provide valuable support to our urban neighbours through the care of our natural and ecological resources that benefit the population as a whole. The importance of preservation and responsible stewardship of these resources should be emphasized in the climate change plan.

5. This support and encouragement for collaboration and enhanced protection of our natural resources should be reinforced through a dedicated funding stream to support climate action by municipalities with populations under 25,000, with priority given to funding those municipalities applying collective impact or collaborative models.

6. SSS would recommend that the Province support the development of regional municipal working groups to share experiences and lessons-learned in scenario development, reducing the staff time allocated to this process through reducing the learning curve, and thereby allowing more resources to be dedicated to the implementation of GHG reduction actions.

7. Any effective climate change plan requires effective consultation. Opportunities to provide input on the development of the climate change plan should be given to equally to small and to large municipalities, and to those agencies that support them in climate change action. In addition, SSS would recommend that significant public consultation is undertaken, as improving climate literacy is vital to realizing the benefits of any actual actions taken by the community.

8. Six of SSS’s municipal partners have committed to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Partners for Climate Protection program, as have over 350 municipalities throughout Canada. The Province’s climate change plan should recognize the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Partners for Climate Protection Milestone Framework, as well as the method for completing greenhouse gas inventories and establishing greenhouse gas reduction targets. The work completed by our municipalities as members of the Partners for Climate Protection program is significant, and these commitments, as well as the work completed to-date should be acknowledged by the Province.

Thank you for the opportunity to share SSS’s comments on the Cap and Trade Cancellation Act, 2018. Should you have any questions regarding this submission, please contact Victoria Ervick, at 705.526.1371 x.111 or by email at victoria@sustainablesevernsound.ca.