Media release follows:
THUNDER BAY -- Renowned Canadian environmentalist David Suzuki on Friday will join a panel of experts to host a town hall about the future of environmental rights in Ontario at Waverley Public Library in Thunder Bay, in light of the Province's ongoing efforts to seek input on the matter.
Presented by the Blue Dot movement, the town hall will also feature Faisal Moola, the David Suzuki Foundation’s director general, Ontario and northern Canada, and Kaitlyn Mitchell, an environmental lawyer with Ecojustice, Canada’s only national environmental law charity. The speakers will discuss what needs to be done to strengthen Ontario’s Environmental Bill of Rights, legislation that outlines environmental rights in the province.
“When Ontario’s Environmental Bill of Rights came into effect more than 20 years ago, it was at the forefront of Canadian environmental law and policy,” said David Suzuki. “But today this important provincial law needs critical improvements to address our most pressing environmental challenges.”
The government of Ontario recently opened a 120-day review period, which ends Nov. 8, and is seeking public consultation on how to improve the bill. The town hall will brief Thunder Bay residents on the issues, and on how they can participate in the review period.
The event is part of a provincial-wide initiative organized by the Blue Dot movement, a national grassroots campaign to advance the legal protection of all Canadians’ right to live in a healthy environment. The Blue Dot movement is mobilizing people across Ontario to take part in the Environmental Bill of Rights review period by submitting their comments to the Ontario government.
The town hall will also feature a question and answer period and reception.
“Ontario has an opportunity to set a precedent in this country by recognizing everyone’s right to clean air and water, safe food and a stable climate,” added Suzuki.
