Breakfast with Mulcair

The former Quebec environment minister began his presentation by discussing how the issue of its application by governments had been discussed through the years, first analysing the post-World War Two industrial advancement and its impact on the environment.

“We simply flipped over the means of production that had been producing the tanks and the trucks and the planes, and we were producing dishwashers and washing machines and cars and we still weren’t counting what was coming out of these factories and going into places like our rivers,” he said.

He credited the late marine biologist Rachel Carson’s book 'Silent Spring' with being a major contributing factor towards the enlightenment of the world to the dangers facing the environment, citing the importance of its simple explanations of the environmental questions of the time, such as why there were no more foxes in the English countryside and how pesticides were directly linked to this problem.

He mentioned that certain international treaties benefiting the environment have been applied with some success, citing the Montreal Protocol, which is designed to slow the depletion of the ozone layer by phasing out the production of substances that cause its depletion. However, Mulcair pointed out a lack of political will among governments to enforce other environmental laws such as the Kyoto Accords, one that he said is both careless and irresponsible to its citizens: “We do have a right to take what’s around us and take resources and use them to produce a good standard of living and way of life, but we do not have the right to do so at the expense of future generations’ ability to do the same thing,” he said. “That is the essential aspect of sustainability and sustainable development.”

Mulcair was quick to admit that the gulf between developing nations and environmental awareness is a large one. He mentioned that currently in places such as China and India it is considered a status symbol to own a window air conditioner, and that these same appliances are sources for ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons. He did credit certain Montreal institutions such as McGill University’s International Centre for Sustainable Development Law for promoting environmentally sound sustainable development in poorer nations.

However, he also pointed out that the reputation of Montreal as an eco-friendly city is unwarranted and undeserved. Mulcair particularly stressed the need for the imposition of metered water in households, as well as a complete overhaul of the water delivery system, stating at present that the city was losing over 50 per cent of its water due to innumerable leaks in the pipes. Once again, he pointed to the economic considerations that have forsaken this resource.

“Unless the person supplying water to the city has an economic interest, he is not going to bother to take care of the system itself. And unless the person using that water has an economic interest, then they are not going to stop wasting it,” he said.

While he gave examples of certain industries that have made environmental adjustments to their production methods, such as the pulp and paper industry, Mulcair stressed that corporate entities will not make these changes alone.

“There is no need or use for finger-pointing at the large oil companies in the west and saying they’re bad. They’re not doing anything to capture or to store or to reduce greenhouse gasses; that’s not their fault,” said Mulcair. “It’s the fault of the government, Harper’s government right now in Ottawa, for not respecting international law. Canada has signed the Kyoto Protocol and yet we’re blatantly failing to respect it,” he said.

Mulcair also lashed out at the past Liberal governments for their environmental position and their Kyoto record. He mocked initiatives such as the One Ton challenge, which urged citizens to turn off their lights to lower greenhouse gasses, saying that this is impossible in Quebec because 100 per cent of its electricity is created by hydro or wind power.

Mulcair closed the meeting by reading from an issue of Popular Mechanics written in 1949. The magazine contained an ad for an automatic dispenser for DDT insecticide. The insecticide advertised itself as being able to be set up anywhere in the home and its fumes (which are poisonous to both insects and humans) as being able to get into hard to reach places. “Like your lungs,” said Mulcair.

He pointed out that this advertisement is in itself a symbol of the ignorance that consumers have had to overcome, and that the lobby for pesticides is still influential. He urged the residents in attendance to force the governments to implement laws that would place effective restraints on the ability companies such as the pesticide manufacturers to harm the environment. He closed the discussion by making a pitch for his new party the NDP, urging attendees to look at the sustainability programs of the NDP governments in Central Canada.

“It’s a good perspective because he dealt with ecological economics,” said Jennifer Patton, chair of the environment committee of the Westmount Healthy City Project. “I wish we had a dozen more politicians like him.”