Where do the provincial parties stand in terms of the environment? This is a question that Sheila Cole, advisor to the Nova Scotia Environment Network (NSEN) Board of Directors, believes has been ignored in this election campaign.
NSEN is a non-partisan umbrella group that serves to connect environmental organizations active in Nova Scotia.
NSEN’s Election Readiness Caucus released their grades of each of the parties based on their response to a thorough, 27 question, environmental questionnaire. The questions covered issues like renewable energy, environment and the economy, water and coastal issues, food, mining and forestry and landfills/toxic waste.
“I was shocked. There is the low level of commitment to action from all major political parties, except for the Greens.” said Gretchen Fitzgerald, Director of the Atlantic Chapter of the Sierra Club.
With the exception of the Green Party which received an A-, all other parties received failing marks.
The parties were graded on three categories: knowledge and comprehensiveness of the answers, environmental soundness, and how specific the responses were in terms of budget and policy.
“It saddened me and it scared me” said Fitzgerald, regarding the lack of forward vision and specific solutions presented by the NDP, Liberal and PC parties.
Meanwhile the shining light was the Green Party.
“Only the Green Party is looking at the larger, interlocking parts that the other three parties are overlooking,” said Richard Bell of the Eastern Shore Forest Watch, the third presenter on the panel.
Despite the “F” marks received by the three mainstream parties, Fitzgerald said that the failing marks do mask that the responses showed that at least some of the environmental issues facing Nova Scotia are understood.
However, the parties lost major points because they lacked commitment to environmental protection and did not offer concrete changes in terms of policy and budget.
NSEN’s full report and grades can be found here.