Minister's Speech

Remarks prepared for:

The Honourable Laurel Broten
Minister of the Environment

Ontario Eco Schools – joint announcement with Minister of Education
May 1, 2007
Venue: Earl Haig Secondary School

(Check against delivery)

Hello everyone.

I’m very pleased to be here this morning at Earl Haig Secondary School… with my good friend and cabinet colleague, the Minister of Education, Kathleen Wynne.

Minister Wynne’s announcement here today is important to the future of Ontario. It is important for the future of our planet.

Today, our government is investing in the success of the Eco-Schools program.

We are ensuring that more school boards across Ontario have the tools and resources available to educate, motivate and engage students on environmental issues... To effectively “grow” them into our next generation of green leaders and activists.

This, I would suggest, is priceless.

Congratulations to Evergreen as well… Geoff…  [Geoff Cape, pres of Evergreen]  your organization is doing really important work.

And congratulations to the students and staff of Earl Haig...

You are doing a fantastic job turning environmental education into action -- making this school healthier and more sustainable.

So much so that last year you achieved Eco-Schools gold certification.

And by the way, I have a special thanks to one Earl Haig student -- Gerald Mak -- who helped us out last weekend at the first ever Green Living Show. Gerald was one of several students from the Eco-schools program that made our presence at the show so great.
 
Well, as every Eco School student knows, climate change is the most critical environmental issue of our time.

It is going to affect everyone, no matter where you live or who you are.

At the same time, climate change is bringing environmental awareness to the forefront.

Il ne fait pas de doute que les changements climatiques constituent l'enjeu environnemental le plus critique de notre temps.
Ces changements affectent tout le monde; peu importe l'endroit où l’on vit…

En même temps, les changements climatiques provoquent la conscientisation.

We need everyone, of all ages, to get involved and to take action to reduce our environmental footprint.

The equation is simple:  by engaging more students today, Ontario will have more environmental leaders tomorrow.  We will need them.  

Margaret Mead, the famous anthropologist and expert on human behaviour once said:
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.  Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

With the Internet, our concept of "a small thoughtful group of individuals" has changed.   
People all over the world now are connecting and creating influential communities on-line. They are working to solve environmental challenges.

Ontario’s students and young adults must have a voice in that discourse.

Today I am pleased to launch two new on-line, web-based initiatives designed specifically to engage Ontario students.

E-zone.ca, is for elementary students … and Obviously.ca is a forum for middle grades and high school.
Both are exceptionally well designed. You’re going to love them. 
Obviously.ca is student-driven. It offers a community-based approach to environmental education and activities. It's one of those "you get out of it what you put into it" ideas. The majority of the content is generated by the students themselves.

One fan of our new sites is filmmaker Rob Stewart who is an environmental leader and activist in his own right. And he’s here with us today!

Rob started out as an underwater photographer. His passion for the environment is reflected in Sharkwater, his feature length documentary that is breaking records at the box office. His film is a ‘call to action’ about conservation and sustainability.   

So if you were to log on to obviously.ca today, you could read all about Rob’s film… about sharks, and why conservation is so critical…

You can also find out which hip hop artists and movie stars are the most environmentally conscious … what bands use renewable energy when they tour … And how students themselves can lead by example ...

Both of our new youth websites are educational and entertaining. Both encourage youth to start talking about the issues, and get involved in the solutions.

For our part, the McGuinty government has been taking action on the environment, clean air, and climate change.

Since 2003, we have reduced greenhouse gases from coal-fired generating stations by 29 per cent. Carbon dioxide emissions from those plants are now below 1990 levels, the base year for the Kyoto protocol.

We are protecting the air we breathe. We have introduced new and updated standards for 40 air pollutants, and regulated seven large industrial sectors to lower their emissions.

We have regulated 5 per cent ethanol-in-gasoline to bring car emissions down; and our $838 million investment in public transit in the GTA will encourage more people to leave their cars at home ─ reducing both smog and gridlock.

We have initiated the fastest growing alternative energy program in North America ─ not only securing clean, green, renewable energy sources to power our province, but encouraging environmental innovation and technologies that will spur economic growth and grow tomorrow’s jobs.

And we are committed to putting environment back into Ontario’s curriculum ...

Sharing knowledge and ideas is essential.
And Earl Haig School is just one fine example of how a small group can work together for long-lasting significant change for the better. 
Thank you.

I now want to ask Rob Stewart to say a few words …

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