New Brunswick Climate Change Action Report Released

"New Brunswickers’ Response to Climate Change" was released today as the final report of the provincial select committee on climate change. 

Andrew Harvey, committee chair and MLA for Carleton-Victoria, says the all-party committee of the legislative assembly was tasked with consulting the public and on ways climate change can be addressed in light of New Brunswick's specific economic challenges and opportunities.

In June, the committee issued an invitation to all New Brunswickers to participate in public hearings and submit written briefs. During August and September, public hearings took place in Perth-Andover, Edmundston, Atholville, Shippagan, Moncton, Sackville, Saint John, Fredericton and the First Nations communities of Elsipogtog and Tobique. The committee also received public briefings from notable experts and government departments.

Harvey says more than 150 presenters appeared before the committee, and many more attended the public hearings. The committee also received more than 40 written submissions.

The report contains 85 recommendations which Harvey says "set out a clear and comprehensive framework for New Brunswick to tackle the effects of climate change."

He says the report offers a role for everyone "as we address climate change and move towards a low-carbon economy that creates jobs and benefits families and communities.”

The committee included Bernard LeBlanc (Memramcook-Tantramar MLA), Monique LeBlanc (Moncton East MLA), Gilles LePage (Restigouche West MLA), Wilfred Roussel (Shippagan-Lamèque-Miscou MLA), Brian Keirstead (Albert MLA), Jody Carr (Oromocto-Lincoln MLA). and David Coon (Fredericton South MLA).

The full report can be read and downloaded from the Select Committee.