NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says if her party is elected, she will establish Youth Climate Corps program.
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath is marking Earth Day by promising to establish an initiative to give youth a role in fighting the climate crisis, if elected on June 2nd.
Horwath says the province's first Youth Climate Corps will give young Ontarians and climate activists paid work experience and a chance to make a difference.
"The fires, floodwaters and intense storms are already here, and they’re getting worse. No one is more affected by the climate crisis than young people. They didn’t contribute to climate change - but they’re going to suffer the harshest consequences of this catastrophe," said Horwath. "It’s easy to be cynical about where we are and our progress in fighting the climate crisis. But it absolutely doesn’t have to be this way."
The program will give youth an opportunity to gain knowledge and training through a paid program that will also count as a post secondary school credit.
Participants will work on climate projects to enhance the natural landscape of the province, such as the NDP's promise to plant one billion trees by 20230.
Horwath says her plan is in contrast to actions made by Premier Doug Ford.
"Doug Ford’s been keeping up an assault on the environment, so that his buddies can benefit" she notes. "He cancelled a program to plant 50 million trees in the province. He ripped electric vehicle charging stations right out of the ground, and he’s spending hundreds of millions of dollars to bulldoze wind farms."
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