Fiscal Update Delivers ‘Downpayment’, Falls Short of Full Funding for Green Recovery
Leading into the update, the Trudeau government downplayed expectations for serious investment in a “greener and more just Canada,” MacDonald writes.
But “other countries have delivered budgets and other countries have
committed huge stimulus packages to climate goals, recognizing that the
pandemic represents a once-in-generation opportunity to embrace the
challenges and the opportunities around climate change.”
But “other countries have delivered budgets and other countries have
committed huge stimulus packages to climate goals, recognizing that the
pandemic represents a once-in-generation opportunity to embrace the
challenges and the opportunities around climate change.”
While “certainly, near-term spending needs to focus on the
pandemic,” he added, “governments should be able to walk and chew gum
at the same time.”
Climate Action Network-Canada said the fiscal update
contained “many encouraging signals,” along with “a few areas we will
watch with close scrutiny”, in a statement that acknowledged the
“exceptionally difficult COVID-19 pandemic year” the country has faced.