The Green Party marks Soil Conservation Week, April 21-28, which is especially relevant in light of the Harper Conservatives’ recent withdrawal from UN efforts to combat desertification.
“Soil is key to our ability to feed ourselves and survive on this planet,” said Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, MP Saanich-Gulf Islands. “If we are going to provide for future generations, we simply cannot be reckless with this basic resource.”
May noted that the Conservatives’ secretive withdrawal from the UN Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa (UNCCD) was symptomatic of an exploitative and short-term attitude toward soil – and all natural resources.
“Canada should be using its knowledge and influence to work with the UN, providing cutting-edge research and solutions to protect and preserve threatened land areas,” said May. “Instead, we are turning our backs on very vulnerable populations.”
Also, in Bill C-38 last year, the Conservatives quietly eliminated the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Act and with it the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA). The Act was designed to “… secure the rehabilitation of the drought and soil drifting areas in the Provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, and to develop and promote within those areas, systems of farm practice, tree culture, water supply, land utilization and land settlement that will afford greater economic security…”
The Green Party encourages holistic, long-term, science-based soil and land management and permaculture, along with tree plantings and straw mulches to protect and feed crucial soil life.
“Canada should be stepping up with real solutions to help the world’s farmers make the most of the water they have,” said Green Party Agriculture Critic Kate Storey. “Holistic land management works on my farm by increasing water cycles, improving the soil, and preventing erosion.
“Across the world, holistic sustainable grazing with the provision of effective fencing materials and management education can bring degraded land back into food production and raise water tables, thus reversing desertification, building soil carbon, and reducing climate change by using healthy soil to capture and store carbon dioxide.”
Good Sunday Morning – January 10
January 10th, 2021
Good Sunday Morning – Jan 3
January 3rd, 2021
Good Sunday Morning – December 13
December 13th, 2020
Good Sunday Morning – December 6
December 6th, 2020
Good Sunday Morning – November 29
November 29th, 2020
Good Sunday Morning – November 22
November 22nd, 2020
Green MPs Elizabeth May and Jenica Atwin recognized in Maclean’s 12th annual Parliamentarians of the Year awards
January 13th, 2021
Green Party condemns steady erosion of civil liberties in Hong Kong
January 6th, 2021
Green Party Leader Annamie Paul calls on Prime Minister to Convene Emergency First Ministers Meeting on the Humanitarian Crisis in Long-Term Care
January 5th, 2021
Green Party urges government to move swiftly and implement all Calls to Action recommended in report from TRC
December 17th, 2020
On fifth anniversary of the Paris Climate Agreement, Green Party says Canada still a long way from meeting its most basic obligations
December 12th, 2020
On the edge of disaster. On the fifth Anniversary of the Paris Agreement, Global Greens call for action not celebration
December 11th, 2020
‘Twas just weeks before Christmas…
December 9th, 2020
Elizabeth asks Environment Minister to close Basel Convention loophole
December 9th, 2020
Elizabeth’s statement on the 50th anniversary of the Royal Commission on the Status of Women
December 7th, 2020
Green Caucus letter to Mins. Bains and O’Regan re: Small Modular Reactors
November 9th, 2020
Green Caucus stands in solidarity with pro-democracy protests in Bulgaria
September 14th, 2020
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