Andrew Duffy
An Ekos Research poll prepared for the federal government suggests Canadians consider the environment to be the most important influence on their overall health.
Asked to rate on a seven-point scale the factors that influence the health of Canadians, more people mentioned air and water quality than anything else. The environment's mean score (6.02) was higher than that of the health care system (5.73), individual lifestyles (5.68) or income levels (5.11).
The poll, presented to a meeting of senior Environment Canada officials last week, was prepared before Walkerton's drinking water was contaminated with E. coli, killing at least 11 people.
Obtained by the Citizen, the poll found the environment ranked fourth on a list of Canadians' priorities.
Ekos asked 4,668 Canadians in May what they think the government's priorities should be over the next five years. Using the seven-point scale, Canadians ranked health care (6.26) first, followed by education (6.0).
Next came children's issues (5.71), the environment (5.57), crime (5.43), unemployment (5.34) and taxation (5.34).
Ekos pollsters told department officials the numbers show a rising level of public support for "conditional" environmental activism by the government.
The poll adds to evidence that Environment Minister David Anderson is preparing to capitalize on the public appetite for government action created by the Walkerton tragedy.
That could begin in earnest this fall when Mr. Anderson is expected to present cabinet with a new green plan.
The Liberal government began its traditional pre-election spending binge earlier this month - $900 million in federal money was proffered to various causes - and Mr. Anderson is keen to capitalize on the green mood of the public and the election mode of the government.
His green plan is still taking shape, but it will likely focus on speeding the introduction of environmental technologies that can reduce smog, cut waste and improve water quality.
Some of the technologies and subsidies being considered-like tax breaks for utilities that retire coal-burning plants early or convert them to natural gas-would also have the benefit of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
"People are starting to recognize that there's a risk management element in the politics of the environment," said one government official. "You don't want to be left holding the bag when you haven't acted."
Mr. Anderson's green plan will be marketed for its health benefits. Addressing climate change consistently ranks low when Canadians are asked by pollsters about their priorities, but clean air and clean water rate among the top five concerns.
In pushing his agenda at cabinet, Mr. Anderson has forged important alliances with Health Minister Allan Rock and Transport Minister David Collenette. (Mr. Rock is expected to make environmental health part of a proposed children's health agenda, while Mr. Collenette is expected to push for improved passenger rail systems.)
The environment minister also has a powerful ally in Finance Minister Paul Martin, the one-time opposition environment critic. Mr. Anderson and Mr. Martin recently had dinner with Amory Lovins, co-author of Natural Capitalism, a book that describes the "new industrialism" that is more efficient, profitable and environmentally friendly.
Mr. Martin, in a recent speech, picked up on the book's theme: "If we are to move forward toward our goal of sustainable communities, we must be willing to accept a new approach, one in which economic and environmental considerations are no longer viewed as separate entities."
Mr. Martin said Canada needs to use renewable energy like biomass fuels, solar and wind power on an industrial scale while abandoning "the very concept of waste."
"The traditional model takes in virgin materials at one end, creates waste and emissions during production, and throws away potentially valuable materials after consumer use," he said, sounding more like an environmentalist than a finance minister.
"But nature long ago came up with a superior design, one where all waste is reused as food or energy elsewhere ... and we would do well to expand our powers of imitation," he said in the speech to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
Municipalities, as stewards of the nation's waste dumps, transit systems, sewage and water treatment plants, have been aggressively courted by the federal government. The municipalities have shown themselves to be more willing than provincial governments to work in concert with federal officials.
In his last budget, Mr. Martin set aside $2 billion for municipal infrastructure programs over the next four years; as much as half of that is now expected to go to environmental projects.
More money is expected to go to municipalities later this year as part of Mr. Anderson's green plan.
Elizabeth May, director of the Sierra Club of Canada, said she hopes the legacy of the Walkerton tragedy will be far-reaching. "We can't afford to act as if the environment is some sort of frill. It is essential," she said. "It's like airplane maintenance: you can only start cutting corners for so long before you start having crashes."
The Ottawa Citizen
June 19, 2000
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