Federal minister praises P.E.I for environmental efforts

Federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna is on her first official visit to P.E.I., addressing delegates at the annual meeting of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation of North America.

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McKenna said P.E.I. is a great choice to host to the conference because of the work being done here.

"I wanted to highlight Prince Edward Island because I think there are so many amazing things in terms of renewable energy and just lots of great innovations that are going on," she said.

"I think sometimes people think it's only in big provinces  or in big cities, but we're seeing amazing things here." 

Those accolades included a shout out to Summerside. McKenna was given a tour with MP Robert Morrissey and other officials. McKenna said she was floored by the amount of sustainable projects the city had going on, from wind energy and smart grids to solar. She said she will be bringing Summerside back as an example to Ottawa and beyond. 

"That everyone's all in, that the community has come together," she said 

"People need to know that not only that climate change is real but that there's ways we can reduce our emissions, we can innovate we can save money be more efficient and look for the future."

Emphasis on working together

McKenna also met with Premier Wade MacLauchlan and other community leaders and spoke about an issue important for P.E.I.: coastal erosion.

"We need to adapt to the impacts of climate change, and I think try to think strategically and creatively about how you deal with coastal erosion," she said 

"I was talking to some of the chiefs from the Mi'kmaq communities, and they were just talking about some of the challenges they're facing, very severe, and so we are all going to have to work really hard together to figure out solutions, so people literally don't lose where they live. "

As for the international meetings, she hopes, in a trying time in North American relations, that working together comes out as a top priority 

"Canada, the U.S. and Mexico worked very closely on environmental issues for decades and I think it's really important that we continue that collaboration," she said.

"There's been some differences with the United States taking its position to pull out of the Paris Agreement, which was unfortunate, but I think there are so many other issues that we need to work together."

McKenna also took the time to introduce a new ambassador for climate change, Jennifer MacIntyre, while on the Island.

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