Huntsville — Mayor

Well good morning Climate Action Muskoka.

   The call for action on climate change is one which everyone needs to understand in the here and now. 

   Simply stating there is a climate crisis makes me have to ask where? Where is the crisis that we all talk about?

   Rising sea levels? Mass droughts? A heating environment? Which one can we stop? The answer is none of them.

   Sea levels will rise and fall until we have an ice age and the sea levels drop. The process of heating up our environment will continue until again we have another ice age. Droughts too are going to continue until our earth in its own time decides for itself its time to cool.

   People like to get on the band shell and cry that we are in the middle of a crisis. Be it the snake oil seller selling that magic elixir to cure your ails or the next best pill to make you feel whole again. Smoke and mirrors to real problems we face. 

   Climate change will continue; how we learn to live with these changes is up to use.  

   I recently purchased a hybrid-electric car. I’m taking a chance at cutting my fuel consumption with the full understanding that my purchase is in fact built through open pit mines for an ore that is highly toxic or which is fully recyclable, but at what cost to the environment.

   I choose to use cedar shakes on my home and wood siding because it’s not a petroleum product. I choose to live with a well and septic rather than city water and sewers because of the environmental degradation associated with putting these systems in place. 

   I live with antiques. 100 plus year old furniture that suits my purposes and is functional. I’m not buying IKEA, my furniture isn’t shipped from over seas but made in America or Canada. It costs more but it doesn’t have to travel the seas to get to me.

   I recycle my milk bags and use them for freezer bags, I compost and have 2 raised gardens that provide me with potatoes, tomatoes and onions, lettuce and Swiss chard for my birds.

   I installed a wood stove to cut my propane use, knowing wood is a renewable resource and the ash is good for the gardens and trees.

   I dont have a 100 year plan. Communists live by a 100 year plan. Our Governments carry forth a 25 year plan of action. 

   Governments also contribute significantly to global degradation. From massive infrastructure projects to deforestation and habitats loss. If elected that will change. Our best defense to climate change is a healthy environment. From planting fruit trees, maples and oaks to spruce forests and pine groves.

   But saying that healthy forests require contentious forest management. As Mete we must be connected with the environment, tend it like a garden. 

   I want to see our historic structures preserved for future generations, I want to see private development for housing that is cost efficient environmentally sound and affordable. Wells instead of pipelines sewers instead of filtration systems. A plot of land where you can grow a garden without fear of what’s in the earth your growing in. I want a ban on all pesticide use. As your representative I want you to be active in the environmental round table that concerns are heard and plans of action are formulated and action taken. We need this at the District and municipal level.

   Are you all aware of the two cold streams in Huntsville that have been all but abliterayed by development. We should be talking about cold springs and fish habitats as well as environmental factors. Development must not interfere with wildlife and we as a municipality must stop and reverse the damage which has occurred by past municipal governments. 

   My plan is for inclusion in all things that environmentally effect the way we live. From the use of plastics to the use of our lands that are detrimental to our surroundings.

   I hope as a member of your board I can bring your concerns to the table in a permanent affirmative action plan we can all live by. 

   Thank you for your time. 

   Miigwetch

   Reuben Pyette-Bouillon