Green Party of Ontario Leader, Mike Schreiner, concluded a 7-day, 15-city tour of Ontario in which he met with cleantech businesses, First Nations communities, entrepreneurs, housing and accessibility advocates, and post-secondary institutions working to deliver clean and caring solutions.

“I was blown away by the ingenuity and determination of the people I met on this tour, whether it was a young couple hoping to start a tiny home community or a big company shifting from petroleum based plastics to plant-based plastics. Ontarians are ready to tackle the challenges we face,” said Schreiner.

Schreiner crisscrossed southern Ontario, holding public town halls in Kingston, Kitchener, Toronto, Peterborough, Belleville and London, while making stops along the way, from a First Nation led nursery project to save native plants in Sarnia to the future site of Ontario’s first CleanTech Research Park at Trent University.

“Ontarians are problem solvers, not problem deniers. People are ready and businesses are ready. Now we just need governments at all levels to have the political will to tackle the climate emergency by embracing the jobs of tomorrow,” said Schreiner.

The tour also highlighted the toll that climate change is already taking in Ontario.

“As we travelled across the province, the impacts of the climate emergency were plain to see, whether it was sandbagged shores in Belleville or lost crop seasons in Lambton county. This crisis is already costing us billions of dollars and it will only get worse if we do not act now,” said Schreiner.

During the tour, Schreiner also highlighted the caring aspect of his vision, advocating for a Universal Basic Income to help people during the transition to a new economy, while also rejecting the Premier’s austerity cuts.

“The reality is that caring jobs are low-carbon jobs and we will need them more than ever as we adapt to climate change and transition to a new economy. By creating jobs and opportunities in the $26 trillion clean economy, we can have the prosperity needed to invest in public health care, education, social services and arts programs that keep our communities strong,” said Schreiner.