The candidates of the Pontiac electoral district on the environment

The candidates of the Pontiac electoral district on the environment

Five of the candidates in the riding of Pontiac for the federal election talked about the environment, Thursday, during a non-partisan debate on climate change organized by the Conseil régional de l’environnement et du développement durable de l’Outaouais (CREDDO), in Wakefield, MRC des Collines-de-l’Outaouais.

Participants included William Amos (Liberal Party), Claude Bertrand (Green Party), Dave Blackburn (Conservative Party), Jonathan Carreiro-Benoit (Bloc Québécois), and Denise Giroux (NDP).

Among the themes discussed during the evening, a question was asked about the measures that would be taken by the federal government to work with municipalities and agricultural producers to reduce water pollution and flood risks.

First up was the NDP candidate Denise Giroux who said that the federal government should provide better resources to MRCs and municipalities to foster collaboration and solutions.

The Liberal candidate, William Amos, said that he wants to focus on mapping flood zones and invest in water quality research.

The Green Party candidate Claude Bertrand spoke about the importance of access to drinking water in Canada, particularly on aboriginal reserves.

For the Conservative Party of Canada candidate, Dave Blackburn, these are collaborative measures with municipalities to “stop” the wastewater discharge that will have to be put in place.

And the Bloc Québécois candidate Jonathan Carreiro-Benoit, says that managing water quality involves supporting farmers and SMEs to counter pesticides and other products of this kind.

Thursday night’s debate was one of the 100 non-partisan environmental debates across the country.

Note that the candidate of the People’s Party of Canada (Party Maxime Bernier), Mario Belec, was not present for the event, although his presence was scheduled on the agenda. The full debate is available on Facebook;