A leaked memo from Canada's Department of Natural Resources says its 2 Billion Trees (2BT) program – set up to honor a 2019 Trudeau campaign promise to plant 2 billion new trees by 2031 – was given that name just to inspire commitment and participation, and is actually expected to have less than 400 million trees planted by then. In related news, the cost of the 2BT program has doubled.
Trudeau (2nd from right) and other politicians plant trees at G7 Summit in Japan, 2016. Pete Souza, Wikimedia Commons.
Trudeau’s $2B tree planting plan was fake | Western Standard | Jen Hodgson:
24 June 24, 2024 - "The Department of Natural Resources in an internal memo acknowledged the Trudeau Liberals' 2019 pledge to plant two billion trees within a decade was fake. 'Two billion trees' was picked as an inspirational slogan and should not be taken literally, said the February 15 briefing note, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. Federal officials 'sought a name that would inspire that commitment and participation. So far that has worked,' read the memo.
"The department said the 'two billion trees' program is currently running off-target and behind schedule. It now estimates only a fifth as many trees will be planted by 2031.... 'To date the Government of Canada has signed or is in the process of negotiating agreements that will result in 393 million trees planted by 2031.... The Government of Canada remains committed to planting two billion trees but tree planning at this scale takes time' The department did not set a deadline for achieving the promised two billion trees.
"While the Trudeau Liberals initially budgeted costs at $3.16 billion over ten years, the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) in a 2021 report said actual expenses would nearly double to $5.94 billion.
"The Liberal Party in its 2019 election platform made the promise to plant two billion trees within a decade. 'We will plant two billion trees to clean our air and protect our communities,' the Liberals wrote in their campaign documents. 'This will help create 3,500 seasonal jobs in tree planting each year.'
"Department managers in May 21 testimony at the Senate National Finance Committee were vague on achievements to date. 'We had initial projections and we continue to calibrate those,' testified Glenn Hargrove, assistant deputy natural resources minister. 'Could you sort of anticipate any completion date?' asked Sen. Larry Smith. 'I can’t give an exact date on when the two billion trees will be planted exactly,' replied Hargrove.
""Canada already has 318 billion trees, by official estimate. Forestry companies currently plant about 600 million trees annually as a condition of cutting on Crown land."
Read more:
https://www.westernstandard.news/news/trudeaus-2b-tree-planting-plan-was-fake/55540
Why Trudeau's broken tree planting promise matters | The Hub | Monte Solberg:
July 2, 2024 - "The reasons for the Trudeau government’s poor political standing are many.... But a key reason is that the prime minister and his team promise big but underdeliver. A towering symbol of this is their promise to plant two billion trees by 2031 to reduce GHGs. The program is off to a bad start.
"Last year in an audit, Canada’s environment commissioner, called out the tree planting program for failing to get timely agreements with the provinces, failing to get commitments through to 2031, not giving nurseries the certainty and time they need to start growing 350 million trees a year, and generally poor planning. The program didn’t even have annual tree planting targets....
"The report also noted, and this is infuriating, that in 78 sites where 10,000 or more trees were planted, they planted all the same species of tree, a monoculture. The commissioner noted in the bloodless language of the public service, that monocultures 'do not support biodiversity and other benefits related to environmental and human well-being'.... Enhancing biodiversity is one of the key goals of the entire program. How could they get this so wrong?"
Read more: https://thehub.ca/2024/07/02/monte-solberg-why-trudeaus-failure-to-follow-through-on-planting-2-billion-trees-matters/
Fkn ANGRY
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