Climate emergency?

I was at a Kitchener committee meeting the other night and I heard a staff member make a reference to a climate emergency in our Region. Apparently a climate emergency was declared by the Region in 2019 and it is still in effect. After doing some research I found out that this climate emergency declaration doesn't expire unless Council votes to rescind it.

Some typical reasons for declaring a climate emergency -

1. to formally recognize that climate change poses an immediate and serious risk to the community's health, economy, infastructure and ecosystems
2. to signal urgency and elevate climate action as a top priority for Council and staff
3. to justify reallocating resources
4. to increase eligibility for certain grants or provincial/federal funding and to strengthen partnerships with other governments, community groups, and the private sector

Apparently a climate emergency declaration can have a strong influence on financial decisions made by municipal officials. There may be Council directives requiring staff to apply a climate lens to budget proposals, explicit reallocations of funds to climate projects, or a corporate plan with budgeted measures. Sometimes the declaration exists but the follow-up reports are limited.

Right now a climate emergency has been declared in the town of Minden in northern Onatrio due to massive flooding, a totally reasonable request made by the community to received assistance with the clean up.

Usually when a climate emergency is declared you think of flooding or a hurricane or a tornado etc. Have we had any of these in our Region in the recent past? Is a climate emergency our top priority right now? Do we actually have a climate emergency right now? Yes we need to prepare for various climate changes but we live in Canada and the climate is always changing here and all around the world. Something to think about as we move forward.