When I was a child, my father would take 4-6 weeks off work every summer and our family would travel around Canada and the US.

Throughout these trips, we would receive instructions from our parents on proper environmental care. Their disparaging voices live on in my head as they showed us the beautiful sights around our country and, at every sight, we saw garbage from what we called “the litterbug cameras”. Those were Polaroid cameras from which people would eject a photograph that needed a few minutes for the picture to develop and, when the proper time was complete, the person would tear the back off to reveal a beautiful picture. They’d toss the garbage on the ground and carry on to the next site where they would leave their garbage on the ground.

Of course, this is just one example of the environmental damage we do without thinking as we deal with the garbage we create. One of our very large environmental footprints include disposing of single use food and drink containers. Scientists estimate that 8 million metric tons of plastic entered the ocean in 2010 alone. That’s a lot of garbage that doesn’t break down.

Canada is blessed with 20% of the world’s total freshwater and roughly 7% of global renewable freshwater supply. Protecting this environmental gift is a responsibility that we all share. Every living organism requires water to survive—preferably clean water.

Let’s take a moment to look at air quality; it’s the right time of year for that. According to AI Overview: “During forest fire season, the major source of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions in Canada is wildfires, which dwarf all industrial, transportation, and oil and gas sectors combined.”

Why do I bring up these incredible environmental concerns?

We need action on land, air and water pollution. Our planet’s survival depends on produce that is seriously affected by our environment. While our government is focusing on useless “Carbon Credits” to try to control our weather, our country needs action on the areas that we can actually do something about.

Last week, word came out that our Prime Minister has cut 50% of the staff at the Operations Centre that, among other things, manages wildfires. The Liberal government also plans to cut staff at Natural Resources Canada, which supports satellite wildfire mapping. Are these spending cuts the best we can do with our national finances or is it a matter of the priorities set by our current government?

A few weeks ago, Rod Taylor spoke of the $3.2 billion federal government bailout of businesses in Vancouver. Is this responsible management of taxpayer dollars? Health Canada estimates that there are 15,300 premature deaths per year in Canada due to air pollution. Further, according to Health Canada, “National morbidity or nonfatal health outcomes include 2.7 million asthma symptom days and 35 million acute respiratory symptom days per year, with the total economic cost of all health impacts attributable to air pollution for the year being $120 billion (2016 CAD).”

We are paying to prop up businesses to help ensure they operate at a profit while failing to protect Canadians from air pollution, which can be managed. Rather than spending taxpayer dollars to deal with land, air and water pollution, our government is collecting $33.3 billion dollars in Carbon Taxes, in 2022, to reduce the use of carbon-based fuels. They are ignoring the fact that carbon dioxide is essential for plant growth and our ability to feed the world.

It’s time to stop buying the party line that has produced nothing but an increasingly impoverished Canada. A multi-national organization, such as the United Nations, should not in any way be dictating laws for Canada. We are a sovereign nation and our leaders should not be abdicating their responsibilities, allowing other countries to set the agenda. We should not be bound by the “Climate Change” fetters. Climate has changed since time began. Greenland had agriculture in the past. It doesn’t have agriculture today. It will likely have agriculture in the future. We do not control that! Almighty God controls the climate. We must look to what we can control…the garbage we produce; the chemicals we pour into our waters; the industrial pollution we put in the air.

Smokey the Bear is wrong in stating that, “Only you can prevent forest fires.” Many fires in our forested areas are the result of lightening strikes; we must have the resources available to combat these also. We can reduce our impact through such things as not throwing cigarettes out the car window and not being careless with fires in a high fire zone. But, in a country that is 40% forest, we must be proactive and ensure that we are well invested in forest fire management, wisdom and equipment.

What about those one-time use water bottles? We must stop allowing them to end up in the oceans. Our oceans are an essential part of our environment, and we must show respect and care for them; they sustain the marine population of our planet and play a pivotal role in preserving our total environment.

CHP Canada has long called for environmental protections that will protect our land, water and air because this is what our country needs. This is what our planet needs!

We don’t need to be taxed for our carbon emissions, we need responsible protections from industrial-created pollutant particulates in the air. We need responsible use and disposal of plastics from both the industry that creates them and the consumer that purchases and disposes of them.

From the tiniest bacteria to the largest whales; from the smallest plants to the tallest trees; everything needs water to survive and grow.

It’s time to stop trying to usurp God’s role of controlling our environment and instead carry out the stewardship responsibilities that we have been given.

It’s time to think outside of the box.

It’s time to think CHP! Join today!