Elections – a time to assert your environmental values

Tools and resources that raise environmental issues in the context of an election are always of interest over here at the West Coast Environmental Law Association.  So we thought we’d direct our readers to two new tools. 

Vote Environment 2013

The first is the Vote Environment 2013 website.  Launched by the Environmental Support Centre and the Conservation Voters of BC, is an easy resource for voters seeking to tell their candidates about the environmental issues that matter to them.  As the site says:

Elections are a critical time to remind political leaders that British Columbians care deeply about our environment. We want B.C. to continue to be healthy, vibrant and sustainable. We want a clean and safe environment for our children and a stable economy that supports communities.

Now is the time to ensure that our next government reflects these deeply held values and works to protect and enhance B.C.'s environmental legacy.

Type in your postal code and you can send a message about the environmental issues that concern you to all of your local candidates.  It’s easy as can be – so check it out

CBC Vote Compass

A second resource is the CBC Vote Compass – a resource that CBC offers every election, and which invites you to “[a]nswer a short series of questions to discover how you fit in the British Columbian political landscape.”

Ordinarily that wouldn’t be an environmental resource, but this time it really does have a fair amount of environmental content.  Out of 30 questions, almost 1/3 are related to what might broadly be considered environmental or land use issues.  Three are on environment and natural resources, three on the oil and gas industry, and three on First Nations and their relationship to their Territories.  Hopefully the high environmental and land use content reflects the importance that British Columbians are actually attaching to environmental issues this election.

So if you’re environmentally inclined, or just interested in politics, you might want to check out Vote Compass

By Andrew Gage, Staff Lawyer

Authorized by the West Coast Environmental Law Association, sponsor under BC’s Election Act, 604-684-7378.