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Perth-Andover hosts climate change committee public meeting

The provincial government is presenting options concerning climate change to the public on Friday to invite discussion and how to handle options.

Committee to seek opinion of public in the first of a series of 11 meetings across the province

CBC News ·
Liberal MLA Andy Harvey (right) and the legislature's Select Committee on Climate Change are meeting in Perth-Andover on Friday morning. (Catherine Harrop/CBC)

A low-carbon economy, stricter water controls and environmentally friendly farming practices are some of the ideas being pitched at a public session of the provinces climate change committee.

Perth-Andover's session with the committee of MLAs is taking place at the Royal Canadian Legion until noon. Another public meeting will be held in Edmundston this afternoon

Simon Mitchell from the Canadian branch of the World Wildlife Fund advocated for a transition to a low-carbon economy, while also saying the province needs a more regulated approach to freshwater.

Francine St. Amand grew up on a farm in California Settlement near Perth-Andover. She used her time to advocate for regenerative organic agriculture, which is a farming technique designed to increase the fertility of the soil by practising composting, mulching and crop rotation.

"At the end of the day, if there were no plants, we would all be dead. That's what you have to remember from my presentation," said St. Amand.

The climate change committee has held public meetings in Fredericton, but the Perth-Andover session will be the first of 11 public meetings held outside the capital.

Flood walls were quickly put in place in 2015 by residents who have previously seen flooding in the Perth-Andover area. (Shane Fowler/CBC)
The hearings are intended to present opinions from climate change experts and ask New Brunswickers how the province should be handling the issue.

In previous meetings, expert Paul Kovacs from the Institute of Catastrophic Loss Reduction said trends show more extreme weather is on the way, including temperatures exceeding 30 C.

Kovacs also noted insurance companies paid out more claims for flooded basements caused by extreme rain than they did for house fires.

The four premiers in Atlantic Canada and the governors of northeastern U.S. states have agreed to a new target of reducing carbon emissions by 35 to 45 per cent by 2030.

There has not been a new provincial plan for climate change introduced since the Gallant government assumed office in October 2014.

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