Former Canadian Prime Minister the Right Honorable Joe Clark gave the keynote address at a panel discussion on bridging opposing views on environment and economy during The University of Waterloo’s School of Environment, Enterprise and Development’s (SEED) annual round table discussion.
The early morning Toronto event titled, Communicating Sustainability in a Polarized World, attracted nearly 300 guests from business, politics and academia to the Royal York Hotel.
“One reason debate is polarized, is the idea that we have limits on our resources,” said Clark from the podium. “This challenges the traditional view that we have limitless resources.”
Clark continued, saying that in the past we believed that, “Canada’ was a place we couldn’t wear out, but we have to admit our limits.”
The keynote set the tone for a robust discussion where ideas about better story-telling, driving political will and the fundamental challenges of dealing with broad audience emerged as themes.
The former Prime Minister answered questions from the audience, and even got a few laughs with anecdotes from his time in office. Clark then joined the panel discussion moderated by David McLaughlin, the strategic advisor on sustainability in the Faculty of Environment at the University of Waterloo and the former president and CEO of the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE).
The diverse panel also included Kathy Bardswick President and CEO of The Co-operators Group, Dr. Blair Feltmate University of Waterloo; Chair, Climate Change Adaptation Project, Canada, Sheila McIntosh Executive VP, Environment & Corporate Affairs, Cenovus Energy, Luiza Savage, Washington Bureau Chief for Maclean’s Magazine, Dr. Judith Sayers, Strategic Adviser and Adjunct Professor, School of Business, University of Victoria as well as former Toronto mayor David Miller who is currently working as President & CEO of WWF-Canada.
Highlights of the discussion included Miller pointing out that currently there is no forum for citizens, businesses and politicians to discuss sustainability. The panel largely agreed that this was true, and Clark suggested reincarnating McLaughlin’s NRTEE.
Sayers was asked if any First Nations had a word for sustainability in their languages. Sayers’ response was that there was no word because environmental sustainability was so ingrained in the survival and culture of aboriginal people, it didn’t need a word.
Feltmate sparked a lively session of debate pointing out that people in big cities who burn fuel to got to the cottage and get back to nature, are probably the most receptive to environmental messaging, yet still haven’t changed their habits.
Nearly all of panel agreed that it would take a fundamental shift in the perceptions and priorities of a broad section of the population to make any meaningful change happen, and that government’s were not facilitating this change.
Following the event, Clark and Miller joined Evan Solomon on the CBC program Power and Politics to continue the conversation.