Funding for Climate Targets

SUSAN LEBLANC: Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Last December, his department released 68 goals in their long-awaited climate plan. Unfortunately, we’re not seeing investment that matches the level of urgency and the work that needs to be done. Most of the climate funding in this recent budget has already been earmarked for existing projects under the Green Fund, leaving little left for work on climate goals. How does the minister expect us to meet our climate targets if he won’t fund the work that we need to do to address the climate crisis?

HON. TIMOTHYHALMAN: Indeed, we did release our climate plan in December of last year, with 68 goals to guide us for the next five years. In point of fact, since forming government 18 months ago, this government’s invested $300 million in climate adaptation: $44 million from the Green Fund, $57 million from general revenue that went into heat pumps, and immediately following the release of our climate plan, we released our plan for heat pumps, $140 million. (Applause)

SUSAN LEBLANC: Mr. Speaker, to illustrate this government’s priorities, this House has been sitting for six days so far and already the government members have kicked and screamed about carbon pricing 34 times. We counted. Meanwhile action and dollars to address climate change are coming up short. Just three days before the tabling of this budget, the International Panel on Climate Change released a damning report that showed time is running out to prevent catastrophe. Governments have 10 fewer years to address climate change than previously thought, and I will table that. Does this minister believe we can afford to wait another year to get serious about addressing climate change?

TIMOTHY HALMAN: Mr. Speaker, we’re not waiting. We’re not marking time; we’re making a difference. We’re taking action. Included in the $300 million we’ve invested since forming government, in December we invested $20 million for nature conservation. These are significant investments. These are investments that benefit Nova Scotians and will help Nova Scotians adapt to climate change. We have a strong climate plan. We have the strongest piece of climate legislation in the country. (Applause) I am very optimistic about the future. We may hear a lot of doom and gloom from the other side about this (Interruption) but we’re moving forward together.

Coastal Protection Regulations Delays - Question for the Minister

SUSAN LEBLANC: My question is, again, for the Minister of Environment and Climate Change. We’re approaching another construction season without any ability to regulate how people build on our coasts. This week, we learned that the minister has thrown out any timeline for making this happen, saying his department is engaging in yet another round of consultations. These have been going on since 2018. Meanwhile, development is accelerating in coastal areas as people seek to be ushered in under the old rules. Can the minister see that every day that goes by without regulations is a day that puts the coastline at greater climate risk?

HON. TIMOTHY HALMAN: In 2019, this caucus voted in favour of the Coastal Protection Act because we recognized how critical that is. Nova Scotians are a coastal people. We’re going to continue to live by the coast. However, we need to recognize the hazards that can be associated with that. These regulations are critical that we get correct. A lot of work has gone into them, and more work will continue to go into them. There’s a lot of support for the Coastal Protection Act, but there’s also a lot of folks that don’t even know the Act exists, and a lot of folks that don’t even know what the entailing regulations could imply. We recognize that more work needs to be done on these . . .

SUSAN LEBLANC: The minister said it himself in 2019. The time for consultation is over. If people don’t know about this Act, then the government needs to educate them about it. One of the recent examples of coastal construction is a large infill wall on the beautiful and popular Crescent Beach in Lunenburg County. It happens to have been built by the owner of Cresco - just saying - the same developer that has benefited from the government’s dubious hotel purchase in Bedford. As one resident who grew up near the beach said, “There has been a big outcry on how this is being done. Why are there no protections in place?” The government’s delays are only benefiting people who are dead set on building under the old rules. When will the government actually protect people on our coastline and release the coastal protection regulations?

TIMOTHYHALMAN: Getting buy-in, getting understanding is key, especially on something as critical as this, and acknowledging there’s still a lot of awareness. I want to thank the honourable member for saying how important education is. That’s why I’m happy to inform the House that I’ve directed my department to begin targeted consultation with property owners to raise awareness, to raise education. To say that there’s not any other protections in place, that’s not the case. Residents of this province can reach out to their municipalities and talk to their zoning and by-laws. They can reach out to CLIMAtlantic. That has information. They can reach out to Natural Resources Canada. They can reach out to Municipal Affairs and Housing, who’s partnering with the federal government for flood plain mapping and lidar.