Hon. Diane F. Griffin: Honourable senators, my question is for the Government Representative in the Senate. The Potato Wart Domestic Long Term Management Plan, which was put in place after potato wart was detected for the first time in Prince Edward Island in 2000, has worked well.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency, or CFIA, has done extensive enforcement. As a result, potato wart was detected quickly when it reappeared in two Island fields this year. The system worked.

But then the CFIA shut down export of table potatoes to the United States anyway. Senator Gold, what is the point of having a long-term management plan if Island farmers, truck drivers and processors aren’t going to be able to export their potatoes?

Senator Griffin: Senator Gold may be aware that tomorrow a large truckload of Prince Edward Island potatoes will arrive in Ottawa for free distribution — just down the street here. If anyone wants a 10-pound bag of potatoes, that’s the place to get them tomorrow. I don’t know if you were aware of that.

Hon. Diane F. Griffin: Honourable senators, I rise today to speak to Senator Galvez’s motion that calls on the Senate of Canada to declare that Canada is in a national climate emergency and to commit to action on mitigation and adaptation in response to the climate emergency.

I thank Senator Galvez for moving the motion and for her speech. I am also indebted to Senator Forest and Senator Miville-Dechêne for their remarks.

In Prince Edward Island, climate change is top of mind. The latest scenarios from the P.E.I. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Assessment and the UPEI Climate Lab say that over the next 40 years we can expect warmer temperatures, more rain and less snow, rising sea levels and less sea ice. In the past, Prince Edward Island’s coastline eroded at a rate of approximately 30 centimetres a year but, as sea levels rise, strong storms occur more frequently and the sea ice becomes less prevalent in winter. The Government of Prince Edward Island expects that erosion will worsen; so, too, will coastal flooding which happens then sea water floods normally dry land near the coast.

Senator Forest noted in his speech that environmentalists did very well in Quebec’s recent municipal elections. We have seen similar results in Prince Edward Island. In our 2019 provincial election, the Green Party formed the official opposition, garnering much media attention from across Canada. Premier Dennis King and opposition leader Peter Bevan-Baker have worked collaboratively in the years since. In my view, having the climate lens applied to all legislation that passes through the legislature has been productive.

I agree with Senator Forest that looking to local governments offers hope in our fight against climate change. For example, in Prince Edward Island the city of Summerside has its own electrical utility. The utility generates power from a wind farm and is currently building a new 21-megawatt solar farm and a battery storage facility. When the solar farm comes online next year, it is estimated that 62% of the city’s electricity will come from renewable resources. Municipalities can do great things.

I also agree with Senator Forest’s point that municipalities are both vulnerable to the effects of climate change and well positioned to respond to the challenges it poses, but that local governments need money and flexibility from the federal government.

We need our federal government to be innovative, flexible and in touch with the reality on the ground in our regions. On November 25 the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development tabled five reports in the House of Commons. The report entitled Lessons Learned from Canada’s Record on Climate Change identifies eight lessons learned from Canadian accomplishments and mistakes. “Lesson 7: Enhanced collaboration among all actors is needed to fund climate solutions.” That report says:

Governments cannot meet climate objectives alone. Without broad, collaborative action, Canada’s emission reduction goals are out of reach. At the 21st Conference of the Parties in Paris in 2015, participants agreed to mobilize action from non-government partners, including civil society, the private sector, financial institutions, local communities, and Indigenous peoples.

Colleagues, I support Senator Galvez’s motion. We are in an emergency and now, more than ever, we need to identify and support the partners who can help us mitigate and adapt to climate change.

Thank you.