My Vote is for the Environment

A guide to the 2008 Alberta Elections

Click here to download the My Vote is for the Environment poster. (Acrobat [PDF] file, ~130K) Click here to download the My Vote is for the Environment poster. (black and white) (Acrobat [PDF] file, ~185K)

One of the most important things you can do to protect the environment is to use your vote wisely. Despite the profile of public concern about the environment we continue to hear politicians say that the environment will not guide how people actually vote. You have a chance to show them otherwise.

If you are an Alberta resident who cares about the environment, the following guide will be helpful during the 2008 Alberta Election. Since CPAWS Calgary/Banff is a non-partisan organization we are not in support of any one particular candidate or party, only informed voters making well-thought out decisions with respect to environmental issues.

1. Show your concern for environmental issues. Print off a copy of the “My vote is for the environment in this provincial election” poster and post it in your front window or door. This will provide a very important message to other voters and to the candidates that will be visiting your neighborhood. Imagine the impact of thousands of these posters springing up throughout Alberta!

2. Get to know where your candidates stand on the environment. Reviewing party platforms is a very good start so we have provided links to the environmental sections of the major party platforms below. It is always a good idea to also read the biography and views of your particular candidate, which should be available through each party’s official Web site.

Here are some external sites with information on where candidates and parties stand on the environment:

Conservation Voters of Alberta
www.conservationvoters.ab.ca
Check out their Candidate Tracker and keep track of what your candidates say on the environment.
See also their report
Eco-Promise or Eco-Action? 2008 Electoral Campaign Party Platform Analysis
(Acrobat [PDF] file)

3. Familiarize yourself with some of the top wilderness issues in our province and find out where your candidates stand on them:

Land use - Alberta’s economic dependence on resource extraction, and our explosive rate of growth, have placed our landscape under severe pressures, where conflicts have arisen both between the ambitions of people and the needs of nature and between users themselves. The Alberta government has initiated a new “Land Use Framework” in an attempt to assess and address this situation. CPAWS Calgary/Banff views this as one of the most pressing issues, and important policy initiatives, currently before us, covering a multitude of specific concerns. Ask your candidates what they would do to mediate the multitude of demands made upon the Alberta landscape.

Further reading:

• Alberta government’s Land Use Framework website, including results of public consultations
  • A summary of what the Alberta public told the provincial government (Acrobat [PDF] file)

• Energy News coverage of Sustainable Resource Development Minister Ted Morton’s address to Calgary Chamber of Commerce on the Land Use Framework
• Save Kananaskis

Climate change - Strong action on climate change is important to all wildlife and wild spaces. Already we see the impacts of a warming and more unstable climate in effects such as the spread of the pine beetle and the loss of glaciers. We need to protect large tracts of wilderness to help maintain carbon stores. Wildlife corridors are extremely important, as are intact, large areas of habitat as species shift their ranges to adjust to changing temperatures. Ask your candidates what they will do to protect more wild spaces and to get tough on climate change.

Further reading:

• Alberta Government Climate Change Plan
• Pembina Institute Media Release on Alberta Climate Change Plan

Water - To ensure quality and quantity of water, we need to protect water basins and ensure there are functioning watersheds and riparian areas. Ask your candidates what they will do to protect our water, restricting use by industry and protecting Alberta’s headwaters and watersheds.

Further reading:

• Alberta government’s “Water for Life” strategy
• Comments on “Water for Life” by Environmental Law Centre (Acrobat [PDF] file)
• Comments on “Water for Life” by Bow Riverkeeper et al
• Rosenberg International Forum on Water Policy, including report to the Alberta Ministry of Environment (February, 2007)
• Bow Riverkeeper

Habitat and species - The number one reason species are endangered is because of habitat loss. We need to ensure critical habitat is protected and that wildlife corridors are maintained to ensure species are protected when they move about their ranges, not just in small pockets of wilderness. Connecting protected areas also promotes healthy gene flow in populations, without which populations can be susceptible to being wiped out by disease or disaster. Ask your candidates what they will do to protect critical habitat and wildlife corridors.

Further reading:

• Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan
• Yellowstone to Yukon Initiative
• Castle Wilderness
• Government of Alberta Species at Risk

Management of parks - Parks serve many purposes, including recreation for people and habitat for plant and animal species. It’s important that these areas are managed with ecological integrity as the first priority to ensure they fulfill the purposes of habitat and ecosystem protection that they were first set aside for, as well as human enjoyment through recreation and tourism, where appropriate. Ask your candidates what they will do to manage parks with ecological integrity first.

Further reading:

• The State of Alberta’s Parks and Protected Areas Report (Acrobat [PDF] file)
• CPAWS Calgary/Banff Chapter
• CPAWS Northern Alberta Chapter

Tar sands - In the last few years the question of the development of the Athabasca tar sands (also known as oil sands) has emerged as one of the most prominent environmental debates in Alberta. The huge petroleum potential is offset against profound environmental impacts, both in terms of carbon emissions and land and habitat conservation. Alberta’s international reputation is at stake. Ask your candidates whether they think that the tar sands are being developed responsibly and sustainably. If not, what would they do differently?

Further reading:

• Alberta Energy's Oil Sands Homepage
• Alberta Environment's Assessment of Oil Sands Mining Development and Reclamation
• “The Canadian Oil Sands in the Context of the Global Energy Demand”, Eddy Isaacs, Ph.D. Executive Director, Alberta Energy Research Institute (Acrobat [PDF] file)
• Globe and Mail Special Series “Shifting Sands”
• Cambridge Strategy Survey result on Albertans' Attitudes toward Oilsands Development
• Pembina Institute's Oilsandswatch
• Greenpeace Edmonton
• TarSandsTimeOut (Sierra Club)
• Environmental Defence Report “Canada’s Toxic Tar Sands: The Most Destructive Project on Earth”

4. If a candidate or volunteer comes to your door, ask questions! A candidate or a volunteer might ask you what issues are of most concern to you and this is a perfect time to say you are concerned about the environment. Ask what the candidate would do to protect the environment if elected, or what their party’s policy on any environmental issue is. If you want to be more proactive, phone candidates’ campaign offices and ask these questions.

5. Open houses and forums are excellent times to pose questions to candidates. You don’t need to be an expert on an issue; something as simple as “what is your position on conservation in Alberta,” or “what environmental issue is of most concern to you?” would be fine. These questions work very well to give candidates a chance to show how much they do (or do not!) know about environmental issues and whether they really have a solid plan for specific issues. At the least, simply reminding the candidates and the audience that the environment is a voting concern is of extreme importance. For that reason, you may want to start or end your question with “My vote is for the environment.” Information about forums in your area should be available through the party Web sites listed above or advertised in your community. If you would like to organize a forum, contact the party offices or the candidates in your riding.

6. Keep up with environmental and elections issues. The most recent news will be posted on our website here. When an issue that interests you comes up in your local media, write a letter to the editor. Below are some links to information on how to send a letter to the editor to a few of the province’s major publications.
   
   Calgary Herald
   Calgary Sun
   Edmonton Journal
   Edmonton Sun
   Lethbridge Herald
   Find a newspaper in your area
   
   Here are some additional news sources focused on the elections:
   Calgary Herald - Alberta Votes 2008
   CBC News - Alberta Votes 2008

7. On election day, get out and vote! Encourage someone else who wasn’t planning to vote to go with you. If you need to register to vote, don’t know the name of your riding, where your polling station will be located, visit the Elections Alberta Web site.

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