A Clean and Just Recovery Depends on Your Voice

Tim Gray

Executive Director at Environmental Defence

As we prepare for a post-COVID-19 future, we know that returning to “normal” is not an option. More action is needed to ensure a safe, equitable, and sustainable future for Canadians.

We can’t allow the COVID-19 crisis to make us blind to other massive challenges that we faced before it began and will still exist after it’s over: dismantling environmental racism, fighting climate change, ending plastic pollution, keeping our water clean, and removing toxic chemicals from the products we use.

A clean and just recovery for Canada means, above all, investing in a society that places people’s health and the well-being of natural ecosystems that sustain all species first. That means that any investments made must advance environmental progress, address environmental justice, and be consistent with Canada’s international environmental commitments.

A clean and just recovery for Canada means investing in:

• A transition to a sustainable low-carbon economy that provides opportunities for people that have often been left behind.
• The protection and restoration of land, freshwater, and ocean ecosystems along with the wildlife that call these places home.
• Banning many single-use plastics, and ensuring the rest don’t end up in our environment and our bodies.
• The replacement of toxic chemicals used in agriculture, consumer goods, and manufacturing with safer alternatives.
• The development of accessible, affordable, and healthy communities and transportation networks.
• A future that prioritizes social and racial justice, economic equity, and well-being, built in partnership with Indigenous peoples and the communities most exposed to environmental harm.

Investments in the Canadian economy cannot be at odds with our collective commitment to a clean and just recovery. With the right investments, we can build an economy and society that are stronger and more resilient than before the crisis began.

“Environmental Defence Canada is in no way affiliated with, or in endorsement of, any participants or sponsors of the following campaign or their messaging.”