B.C. Budget misses opportunity to invest in green economy

Media release from the David Suzuki Foundation:

February 20, 2009 – While the B.C. government reaffirmed its commitment to tackling climate
change, the David Suzuki Foundation is calling the 2009 B.C. budget a
“missed opportunity to strongly position the province in the emerging
green economy.”

“The 2009 B.C. budget sustains the core of province’s climate change
action plan by maintaining the carbon tax,” said Ian Bruce, the
Foundation’s Climate Change Specialist. “But it falls short by failing
to provide adequate funds for public transit, and sends the wrong
signal by continuing to heavily subsidize the fossil fuel industry and
proposing increased spending on highway expansion”.  

The absence of funds for closed containment aquaculture in the budget
is another missed opportunity to promote green jobs and a green
economy. “These funds would have gone a long way towards encouraging
sustainable aquaculture in B.C., and protecting wild salmon from the
negative environmental impacts of open-net-pen salmon farms,” said
Corey Peet, aquaculture scientist with the David Suzuki Foundation.

Over $14 billion in infrastructure spending was announced in the
budget. “The government should demonstrate how these investments
support its legislated climate change targets,” added Bruce.

Read the original press release here.