e-297 (Protection of the environment)

Petition to the House of Commons

• Nine years ago, when her third daughter was born, Cathy Orlando vowed that she would do all she could to ensure that her children would grow up in a world safe from climate change. Orlando, who has a master’s degree in science, did her homework. She found that many of the world’s top climate scientists, including Dr. James Hansen, the NASA scientist who first told the U.S. Congress about the dangers of climate change in the late 1980s, agree that a critical step to control climate change would also be one of the simplest – putting a steadily rising price on carbon dioxide through a tax or fee on fossil fuels. The fee would make alternatives to fossil fuels cost-competitive, and spur investment and innovation in clean technology;
• All the money collected would then go back to everyone as dividends to help them shoulder rising costs and stimulate the economy. The process is called carbon fee-and-dividend, and is supported by the Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL), an international organization with more than 300 chapters in the U.S., Canada and world-wide, building the political will for this progressive carbon pricing mechanism; and
• Cathy Orlando, now the national manager of CCL Canada, leads a diverse range of citizens from coast to coast calling for effective government action that will leave our children a livable planet.