A healthy environment is necessary to create a healthy Manitoba. It is incumbent on governments within Canada and worldwide to address the particular challenge of global warming. The Progressive Conservative Opposition sees reducing our dependency on fossil fuels as an important priority.
We are clear, however, that progress on greenhouse gases must be progress made in Manitoba. A Progressive Conservative government would work to achieve real reductions in greenhouse gases in Manitoba rather than just purchasing international credits to offset increases at home.
A Progressive Conservative government would achieve reductions in greenhouse gases by providing consumers with tax incentives to reduce their dependency on greenhouse gas-emitting energy sources and through support of Manitoba’s growing biofuel industry.
Our government would stimulate production of this clean energy source by providing low-interest loans to assist in the development of biofuel production facilities. Our government would simultaneously initiate consultations with the business community to determine other effective means of providing financial incentives for investment in this important sector. It is the opinion of our Opposition that the first step toward reducing greenhouse gases at home should be a reversal of the government’s policy to construct Manitoba Hydro’s BiPole III transmission line on the west side of the province.
The clean power saved from eliminating west-side line loss would displace more than 350,000 12 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. A GHG reduction of this size is equivalent to taking more than 57,000 cars off of Manitoba roads. Manitobans owe much of our prosperity to our water. The expansive network of lakes and waterways that covers a remarkable fifteen percent of the surface area of our province provides both economic opportunity and some of the best recreational sites Canada has to offer. Manitobans are concerned about the cleanliness of this precious resource. Our Opposition believes that it is time to move from talk to action to clean up Lake Winnipeg.
A Progressive Conservative government would match the $18 million investment the federal government recently made in Lake Winnipeg. Our contribution would strike a balance between aggressive programming and long term monitoring and research. Our government would place emphasis on the treatment of phosphorous in the City of Winnipeg’s sewage treatment initiatives. Concentrating on phosphorous would have a greater impact on restoring the health of Lake Winnipeg and would result in significant cost savings.
Our government would also work with agriculture producers to develop an incentive program that reflects the economic and societal values provided by wetland areas. Manitoba’s landfills are needlessly overflowing with waste. This is not surprising, considering Manitoba remains the only province in Canada without a beverage container recycling program.
A Progressive Conservative government would introduce legislation requiring the government to collect a deposit on all recyclable beverage containers, which consumers can recoup when those 13 containers are recycled at a depot. Manitobans also want plastic bags out of landfills. Our government would take the first steps toward phasing in a ban on plastic bags, ensuring adequate time is given for small business to adjust. To achieve immediate results, our government would establish incentives for the reuse and recycling of plastic bags before the ban is phased in.
