Ryan Meili is running for the NDP leadership in June. He is a family doctor and community organizer; for years, he has been working to build healthier communities in Saskatchewan. Currently employed as a rural relief locum, Ryan’s job as a family doctor takes him all over the province to give doctors in small communities some much-needed and well-deserved time off. When not on the road he lives in Saskatoon’s core community of Riversdale.This is what he says about the environment:
Building a healthier society requires a long-term vision for a sustainable relationship with our environment. Saskatchewan has been blessed with an abundance of natural resources. The way that we choose to use them is a true test of our stewardship.
To ensure that we use our resource wealth responsibly, Saskatchewan must invest heavily in the future. We have an opportunity to grow a green economy in energy production, manufacturing and conservation at a time when the world needs us to use less.
- Implement floating royalty rates to ensure that the economy continues to grow while Saskatchewan people receive fair value for their resources. Invest the wealth generated wisely and sustainably in environmental stewardship and renewable energy.
- Invest boldly in obtaining our energy needs from renewable sources such as wind, solar and hydro rather than non-renewable technologies such as coal, fossil fuels and nuclear power. This will decrease our carbon and waste footprint as well as conserving scarce resources for future generations.
- Reduce our energy needs by investing in conservation. Support retrofits for existing buildings. Incentivize and regulate new construction to promote energy efficiency, including the use of geothermal heat and solar power.
- Because transportation is one of the greatest energy users and pollution producers, we must invest in rail, public transit, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure and high efficiency vehicles.
These changes can be made so as to benefit us both economically and environmentally. We can put the eco back in economy and grow both our prosperity and our sustainability. Not only can this shift be made, it must be made. Climate change is happening and we are contributing to it. The cumulative impact of unsafe industrial practices threatens our environment. It is not too late to change, but the time has come to use our best energies to build a greener, cleaner, healthier society.
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