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For the Record: My Approach to the Climate Crisis

9/17/2021

Climate change is the gravest existential crisis we face today.

Just this summer alone we have witnessed epic droughts, record temperatures, massive forest fires, stronger and more frequent hurricanes leading to immense flooding, and the accelerated melting of the polar ice caps.

The consequences of climate change that were predicted to occur 20 or 30 years in the future are happening now. Extreme weather patterns that are supposed to happen once every 500 years are occurring every year.

These are all linked to climate change and some of effects are already irreversible.

The 2021 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change makes it clear once-and-for-all that we are at a turning point and we must act decisively now.

More information on the NDP’s strategy to address the climate crisis can be found here.

As an MP, addressing the climate crisis and lowering greenhouse gas emissions will be my number one priority, including:

pushing for significant investments into renewable energy and zero emission vehicles, buildings, manufacturing, and farming, and
the complete elimination of both fossil fuel consumption and production in Canada.

As the MP for Kings-Hants, I would take a lead role in ensuring the riding helps stabilize the global temperature increase at 1.5 degrees by 2030.

In keeping with the NDP platform, our local goal would be a 50% reduction in GHG emissions below 2005 levels by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2050.

I would begin by putting together a working group of all key stakeholders in the riding to develop an ambitious local climate action plan.

To reach these goals I would emphasize the following measures:

transition away from coal as an energy source; the goal would be to make sure the riding has net carbon-free electricity by 2030
green our electricity grids by having businesses, cooperatives, First Nations, and individual landowners harness wind and solar power and other renewable energy, which can then be connected to our electricity grid
ensure all existing and new homes and other buildings are carbon neutral
ensure 100% of local new vehicle sales will be zero emission vehicles by 2035 while installing more charging stations
electrify our public transit fleets and other municipal government vehicles
hold heavy polluters accountable to reduce emissions by adhering to the industrial carbon pricing scheme is in place
work with the agricultural sector to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and
embark on ambitious tree planting program.

I would also take a lead role in promoting a local green economy by supporting community-owned and Indigenous-owned clean energy projects which includes helping them find financing and expertise.

I would promote greater research at our post-secondary institutions to advance technological innovation in renewable energy.

I will be a strong voice for environmental justice by advocating for Indigenous peoples, addressing environmental racism, reducing poverty and inequality, and promoting good union jobs in the new green economy.

My priorities for safeguarding our ecosystems and biodiversity would be to ensure 30 percent of our local lands and freshwater are protected by 2030, which includes opposing the sale of Owls Head, and to make our logging more sustainable, which includes eliminating clear cutting.

- Steve Schneider

4 Comments

For the Record: My Stance on Lake Pisiquid and the Fish Passageway in Windsor

9/16/2021

2 Comments

The issue concerning Lake Pisiquid and the fish passageway in Windsor is a complex one and has been very divisive among those living in Kings-Hants and West Hants in particular.
It is also a personal issue for me in that my family has used the lake on a number of occasions to canoe, swim and have parties in the boathouse.

With that said, I support the position of the Mi'kmaq of Nova Scotia who made it clear that free-flowing fish passage is required at the mouth of the Avon River.

Of the three options presented by the provincial government that appear to be on the table, I would support what is called the “brackish option" which includes: keeping the fishways open almost all of the time, maintaining the level or the reservoir, allowing a tide of about half a metre, and permitting some sediment and salinity into the reservoir by allowing the gates to control tidal flows.

My support for this option and the position of Mi'kmaq is premised on two fundamental reasons.
First, the “lake” is in fact a human-made reservoir, and we must return to respecting our environment the way Mother Nature intended. Free tidal flow is the best environmental option with a brackish reservoir that rises and falls with the (world famous) tides and would create a more natural or dynamic ecosystem.

I understand the stance of those who want to maintain a freshwater lake for recreational reasons; however, I strongly believe we all must make sacrifices given the environmental destruction we have wrought and the climate change crisis we are engulfed in.
Having visited and enjoyed the lake on numerous occasions myself I feel this is a personal sacrifice I am willing to make.

Second, I strongly believe it is time we listen to Indigenous voices and their preferences. The Mi'kmaq culture and community understand and are passionate about the value of preserving nature. I have had the honour and pleasure of meeting the fish and water protectors at the Treaty Truckhouse # 2 in Windsor, and I also strongly support their right to control the gates and fish passage.

I also understand the concerns of those who feel the loss of a freshwater lake will have detrimental economic consequences for Windsor.

One of my highest priorities as an MP would help the community move past any negative consequences stemming from federal and provincial governments’ decision regarding the lake and the fish passageway. This would include helping to spearhead an ambitious economic development plan that would dwarf the economic, recreational, and aesthetic contributions made by lake Pisiquid.

For me, this would entail making a Windsor area a tourist mecca for the province, Atlantic Canada and beyond. Given the Ski Martock itself is threatened by the climate crisis (rising temperatures and shorten winters), I envision Martock as a summer tourist destination that would rival Magnetic Hill in New Brunswick (including, for example, a theme park, amphitheater, other tourist and recreational amenities, camping, hiking, etc.) .

- Steve Schneider

2 Comments

For the Record: The Housing Crisis

9/15/2021

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Nova Scotia is in the midst of a housing crisis, which is being fueled by the lack of affordable housing.

I agree with the United Nations when it identifies adequate housing as a fundamental human right, including the right to a security of tenure, adequate conditions, protection against forced evictions and access to affordable housing.

But for too many families in Canada, safe and affordable housing is increasingly out of reach, thanks to ballooning home prices, skyrocketing rents.

Average rents rose in every single province last year, and far too many households spend more than 30 per cent of their income on housing.

In some parts of the country there are 10 to 15 year wait lists for affordable social housing.

The national housing crisis is impacting every area of the country, and this must be a priority for the federal government. It will be one of my top priorities if elected as the M.P. for Kings-Hants.

Renters

One in three Canadians is a renter so there needs to be much more focus on creating rental housing stock, particularly for low and middle-income Canadians. The NDP’s pledge is to create at least 500,000 units of quality, affordable housing in the next ten years, with half of that done within five years. An NDP government would also make it easier for families to pay rent by providing help of up to $5,000 a year while they are waiting for more affordable housing.

The fundamental difference between the NDP platform and those of the other two major parties is that our focus is on affordable alternatives to market housing: non-profit housing, government-subsidized social housing, co-operative housing, and co-housing.

One of the reasons we are in this housing crisis is that there has been far too much reliance on market housing. However, not enough developers are building rental housing and governments are not financing enough social housing. In some parts of the country there are 10 to 15 year wait lists for affordable social housing.

It is within this context that I strongly support inclusionary zoning and other proven municipal housing incentives to encourage more alternatives to market housing. I would also support any municipal tax on those companies that are buying up rental housing and turning them into short-term rentals (e.g., “Air B&Bs”) and using the tax revenue to fund more social housing.

Co-operative Housing

A key part of the NDP’s housing platform is provide resources to promote co-operative housing. To kick-start the construction of co-ops, social and non-profit housing the NDP promises to set up a dedicated fund of investment capital and to streamline the process and help communities get the expertise and assistance they need to get co-op projects off the ground as soon as possible. It typically takes around 10 years from when a co-operative is organized until construction begins. I would like to see that halved to five years. To save even more time, I would like to organize tenants of market-rental housing into co-operatives with the long-term goal of transitioning towards a co-operative housing development.

Social Housing

The federal government must become more directly involved in funding social housing – that is helping to create more government-subsidized public housing. The NDP plan calls for increasing federal resources to finance and build more government-subsidized housing for those who cannot afford market housing.

First Nations Housing

The housing crisis is most acute in First Nations communities. Statistics Canada indicates that one in five Indigenous people lived in a dwelling that is in need of major repairs and/or lives in over-crowded conditions. I support the Assembly of First Nations resolution that calls “for a comprehensive approach that includes all aspects of housing, from social housing and the care and control of band-owned housing to individual home ownership” and for a “balanced Housing Framework that maintains the ability of First Nations communities to move forward with local, territorial and regional housing strategies.” The federal government must respect this resolution while providing more dedicated funding to support new construction and repairs to First Nations housing on reserves.

In short, a major focus of the NDP is increasing affordable, safe, and suitable housing for renters, low and middle-income people, Indigenous peoples, and others who cannot buy a home. It is essential that the federal government play a larger role in providing alternatives to market housing in collaboration between federal, provincial, municipal and First Nations governments.

- Steve Schneider

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For the Record...My stance on Indigenous Fishing Rights in Canada

9/14/2021

1 Comment

For the record: I am a very strong supporter of Indigenous fishing rights here in Nova Scotia and throughout Canada!

We must respect the constitutional right (as confirmed by the Supreme Court) of Indigenous peoples to make a modest living from fishing.

I strongly support Chief Sack from the Sipekne'katik First Nation and his calls for self-regulation of commercial fishing by Indigenous peoples.

Indigenous peoples have been careful conservators of fish and lobster stock for hundreds of years and have shown to be responsible in guarding against overfishing. Of course, it has been the settler population - represented by greedy corporate fishing interests and mismanaged by government agencies like DFO - that has led to overfishing and the depletion of fish stocks.

I also condemn the arrest of Chief Sack, the pulling up of lobster traps by DFO, and the violence that has been directed towards indigenous commercial fishers and their boats. (I do support the recent decision by DFO to remove federal fisheries officers from areas where a Mi’kmaq fleet is harvesting lobster).

In short, you can count on me as the NDP candidate to continuously and vocally express my support for the rights of Indigenous fishers and the efforts of Chief Sack specifically. I would most certainly continue this work as an MP to ensure that the issue of "modest living" is finally defined and to help the Indigenous fisheries move toward greater self-regulation.

- Steve Schneider

1 Comment

Discussion Forum

For the Record: My Approach to the Climate Crisis

For the Record: My Stance on Lake Pisiquid and the Fish Passageway in Windsor

For the Record: The Housing Crisis

For the Record...My stance on Indigenous Fishing Rights in Canada

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