In December 2016, we asked Santa for a number of really great eco-gifts for the Province of Manitoba. Click here to see our original wish list. Sadly, not many of our wishes came true. So with all due respect to Mr. Claus, we are sharing our outstanding list with the people of Manitoba to help us! Let’s see what we can make happen this year!

 

2018 Wishlist

1) Manitoba’s Climate and Green Plan 

Fair distribution of Manitoba’s carbon tax. The Province has released its Climate and Green Plan, and we want to see the revenue received from its carbon pricing go to green solutions for all Manitobans. Did you know that the Province is projecting that it will generate over $250 million dollars in carbon revenue recycling? That’s a lot of money that can be used to combat climate change! Carbon revenues should be targeted toward technologies and programs that reduce or mitigate GHG emissions directly or provide alternatives to current practices. The lowest income groups in Manitoba should receive some form of subsidy or direct payment to alleviate the impact of the carbon so as not to increase provincial poverty levels.

 

2) More funding and support for Transit
Transit fare hikes have the potential to drastically affect the living standards of many Manitobans. Having a working, affordable system of public transit needs to be addressed. In case you missed it, see what Green Action Centre’s Liz Shearer has to say in this article that appeared in the Saturday Winnipeg Free Press’s Green Page on December 16th, 2017.

 

3) A shift in modeshare
According to wikipedia – A modal share (also called mode split, mode–share, or modal split) is the percentage of travellers using a particular type of transportation or number of trips using said type. Green Action Centre wants to see bicycle, pedestrian, and transit mode shares go up, while the single occupant vehicle mode share goes down.

Manitoba is a car-centric province, with 75% of people driving alone for their daily commute to work or school. If Manitobans want to reduce their carbon footprint, traffic congestion, and the cost of owning and operating a vehicle, we need viable options to replace our trips by car. GoManitoba is a ridesharing tool that matches you with potential carpool, cycling, walking, and transit matches, and also serves as a great place to start for resources, trip planning, and tracking savings.

 

4) An opened and redesigned Portage and Main

Study after study has shown that pedestrian traffic benefits local business. it seems the powers that be all agree, but it is going to have to be paid for. Learn more here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/portage-main-funding-epc-1.4360126

 

5) Mandatory school travel planning and increasing the number of children walking and cycling to school

Our youth are living in a state of health and environmental crisis. Two out of three children in Manitoba are not walking or cycling to school.  There is considerable evidence that confirms active school travel has vital physical, mental, and environmental health benefits. If we want to increase green commuting mode share in the future, we have to start with children and youth. Green Action Centre is ready and eager to help out. In fact, we have a whole department dedicated to increasing children’s health by promoting green transportation, clean air, and safety systems to get our children to school. See more from our Active and Safe Routes to School Program here.

 

6) An organics landfill ban by 2022

Resolve for the Province of Manitoba to impose a ban on organics in landfills in the Capital Region by 2022, which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and ease the burden on landfill space needs.

 

7) Curbside composting 

The City of Winnipeg has spent years discussing implementing curbside composting, which could divert potentially 40% of our waste from the landfill and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It’s time for Winnipeg to catch up to cities across the country who have had curbside organics programs for years! For more on our position on this issue, click here.

 

8) Increased opportunities for multi-family composting 

We’ve had great support from the federal government to support on-site composting at multi-family buildings, which tend to have lower waste diversion than single-family homes. We want to see a resolution to give every resident of a multi-family building in Manitoba access to and support for recycling and composting. We’ve started addressing this issue head on with our Onsite Program!

 

And one more thing! We wish all Manitobans an eco-awesome 2018, filled with healthy food, healthy transportation, and healthy practices.