Nothing Will Change Unless We Change It
It’s been about a month since I wrote about the Trees Please “Save the Shade” Election
Pledge and, by now, I had hoped a few things might have changed. What I hoped for most
was that the three candidates being touted as the frontrunners in our mayoral race would
have signed the pledge.
Instead it has been crickets from Misters Gillingham, Klein and Vogiatzakis.
So why haven’t the frontrunners signed a pledge that would commit them to something as
economically sound and environmentally friendly a as expanding our canopy to 24% and
protecting as many of our mature trees as possible via the development of a private tree
protection bylaw?
Well folks, if you haven’t figured it out yet, I have one word for you that sums up a good part
of their reluctance – development.
Indeed, it is developers – not all of them, but a significant portion - who don’t want any
restrictions on their ability to clear cut the forests and trees on their land. And needless to
say, a bylaw governing private trees would limit their ability to do that.
In fact, I’ve had at least one councillor observe that the mere announcement of a plan to
draft a private tree bylaw would likely result in developers retaliating by clear cutting their
land before the bylaw ink was even dry.
So my question to you is this – do you think that city government should be held hostage by a special interest group? Do we want a mayor who is so afraid of the construction and development sector that he or she won’t act to protect us and our few remaining intact forests?
Forests which, like the Assiniboine, the LeMay and the Bois Des Esprit, are much loved and
well used heritage landscapes.
Mature forests like the ones that once lined our riverbanks and are now being whittled
away to make way for McMansions and infill housing.
Forests that protect us from extreme heat, absorb pollution offset the impact of
superstorms and prevent riverbank erosion.
Woodlands that also provide a much needed refuge for the anxious, the stressed-out and the vulnerable among us, as well as our fellow creatures.
Do these factors count for nothing in the definition of leadership for Misters Gillingham,
Klein and Vogiatzakis? Is there any room for nature in their vision of Winnipeg?
To be perfectly honest, I don’t think they give nature all that much thought and listening to
the recent CBC mayoral debate simply confirmed that.
In fact, all three of these candidates, to a greater or lesser degree, are stuck in the past – a past that was unaffected by climate change, when we mowed down trees to build loading docks and roads and sacrificed downtown housing and nature to that glowing 20th century symbol of progress – the parking lot.
And believe me when I say this – leaders who don’t act to protect nature in the city are also
much less likely to be interested in protecting you and your families health and well-being.
That’s why all three of these aspiring Winnipeg mayors argue about hiring and funding more police to do drug raids on our streets and talk very little about how they’ll fund the mental health supports and housing needed to help the homeless and the addicted.
That’s also why our firefighters are so underfunded and understaffed that I had to watch a meeting at city hall where one of their union leaders was literally begging the city for more staff. Stressed-out, overworked firefighters who were then forced to suffer the further indignity of being told that their rate of absenteeism and overtime was too high.
So, I ask you - is this really the kind of leadership you want? Leadership that supports the
needs of business first? One that consistently defends private property rights over the common good and believes that more police are the answer to most, if not all, of our safety
concerns?
Well, it’s definitely not the kind of leadership I want. And that’s why I tuned in to the Ballot
Babes’ online town hall, with progressive mayoral candidate, Noah Redden, and
watched the CBC debate a few days later.
Redden has not only signed the Trees Please Pledge but has also made his positions clear on everything from public safety and transit to housing.
He’s young, compassionate, innovative and most definitely not stuck in the past.
He’s also a member of the generation that will be left to deal with the environmental mess
we’ve created.
So what exactly do we want, folks? Do we want another status quo mayor focused on cops, burbs and shiny new roads or a mayor who just might put people and nature first?
Well, I know what I’m voting for, and I hope you do to.
To watch the Ballot Babes in action go to:
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