Canadians interested in sharing their views on greening Parks Canada and hitting net zero targets can take those ideas to an online biannual public round table.
The round table, “Let’s Talk Parks, Canada” opened Jan. 30 and will be available until Feb 13.
The online engagement is being hosted by the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Steven Guilbeault, who is also the minister responsible for Parks Canada.
When it comes to greening Parks Canada and hitting net zero targets, the ministry is asking people for ideas on how Parks Canada can “make their operations more ecologically friendly and which partners can help them do it.”
Parks Canada, along with other government agencies, are working towards hitting the federal net zero emissions target.
On Nov. 17, 2022, Canada joined the Net-Zero Government Initiative. Over 120 countries signed the initiative with a commitment to achieve net-zero emissions from national government operations by no later than 2050.
“We must aggressively reduce greenhouse gas emissions while building a clean and low-carbon economy. The Government of Canada is leading by example by greening our own operations,” said Guilbeault in a press release.
Parks Canada said they have a mix of short, medium, and long-term plans to achieve target goals and they are also developing a Net-Zero Carbon Portfolio Plan
“This will provide a roadmap for further action related to facilities, fleet investment decisions and strategies, and operational practices that can help improve energy efficiency, reduce GHG emissions, and achieve climate resilience over time,” the website states.
Initiatives Parks Canada has already taken to green their operations include EV charging stations and zero-emission light-duty vehicles.
In 2019, the Parks Canada Agency partnered with “the Tesla donation program to install electric vehicle charging stations at Parks Canada places across the country. There are now over 240 EV charging stations at Parks Canada places.”
Parks Canada has 71 zero-emission light-duty vehicles, including 13 all-electric pickup trucks.
According to the Let’s Talk Parks, Canada website, Parks Canada “has one of the largest and most complex asset portfolios within the federal government.”
There are more than 17,500 assets — which include historic buildings, highways, navigable waterways, and townsites — at a replacement value of about $26.6 billion in around 200 heritage places, said the website.
There are five themes for this year’s round table including strengthening accessibility, Indigenous stewardship of protected heritage places, ecological corridors, Parks Canada and tourism, and greening Parks Canada.
The last round table was held in October 2020, with around 13,000 participants and “60 stakeholder organizations (through nine virtual discussions)” sharing their thoughts on five themes which included ecological corridors; protecting our cultural heritage; Indigenous leadership in conservation; urban parks; and diversity, inclusion, and accessibility.
Information on participating in the 2023 round table and information on the round table held in 2020 can be found at www.letstalkparkscanada.ca
