At the risk of sounding churlish, the federal government’s new $34-million investment in climate change adaptation programs feels more like an insult than a gift.
Not that the money isn’t needed. I’m sure Halifax is thrilled to receive $800,000 to install cooling measures in parks during stretches of extreme heat. Ditto for the $1-million cheques going to flood mitigation measures in Quebec’s Kanesatake Lands and Fort Qu’Appelle, Sask.
These sprinklings of cash will no doubt be welcome, but they seem a laughable pittance when you consider the government’s top priority: fast-tracking construction of another pipeline from the Alberta oilsands to the BC coast. For all of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s talk of “decarbonized oil,” make no mistake, if additional oil is extracted from the oilsands, it will add to the world’s carbon pollution load when it is burned. And that same pollution is causing record-hot temperatures and catastrophic fires here at home and worldwide.