Sudbury task force finds protecting 30% of lands, water by 2030 beneficial, feasible
The City of Greater Sudbury is well on its way to protecting 30 percent of its lands and waters by 2030 as part of a national initiative to reverse the decline in biodiversity and fight climate change.
The mayor's 30 x 30 task force was tasked with finding out if this was something that is feasible and beneficial for the city and it came back with an update during Tuesday's council meeting.
"Thirty percent of the land and water in Sudbury is 109,000 hectares," Franco Mariotti, the task force chairperson, said.
"What we’ve recognized as existing is already over a third, 40,000 hectares, that’s just existing. There’s no debate about those, they’re already protected."
Mayor Paul Lefebvre said Greater Sudbury has been recognized as a global leader in ecological restoration.
"Our community enjoys access to vast greenspaces and 330 lakes," Lefebvre said.
"This initiative provides a unique opportunity to contribute to the federal government’s 30x30 pledge and to continue to demonstrate how our natural environment mitigates climate change impacts and enhances our quality of life."
- Download the CTV News app now
- Get local breaking news alerts
- Daily newsletter with the top local stories emailed to your inbox
The city’s commitment can only include protecting lands that are publicly-owned and managed, such as city-owned parks, open spaces or Crown land, in coordination with the province.
"At the heart of those lands that will be protected is to maintain a sustainable habitat for all creatures that live there, but it doesn’t mean that we are kept out, we will have access to all of those places," Mariotti said.
A motion was voted unanimously in favor of the group working towards this goal by applying to have some lakes, as well as all lands that are already recognized as parks and public green space, considered for inclusion in the federal database.
Junction Creek in Greater Sudbury. May 1, 2024 (Lyndsay Aelick/CTV Northern Ontario)
Over the coming months, the mayor’s 30x30 task force will prepare a preliminary list of recommended existing sites that are suitable first candidates.
They will also prepare a community engagement plan to consult on these sites and broader 30x30 goals."You're not just doing this as a silo, you’re reaching out to other community partners, you’re including Indigenous Peoples, the public, business owners and community groups," Ward 1 Coun. Mark Signoretti said.
"So it's not saying 'We’re disregarding the developers, we don’t want development.' We all know development needs to occur, but we're also being cognitive of the fact that our community needs to grow in the right way and we need to preserve what we have."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
ANALYSIS Will Donald Trump go to prison? What the precedent says
Now that the jury in Donald Trump's criminal trial has made the historic decision to convict him, the judge overseeing the case will soon face a monumental choice: whether to sentence the 2024 Republican presidential candidate to time behind bars.
Can Trump come to Canada now that he's a convicted felon?
A Canadian immigration lawyer says now that Donald Trump is a convicted felon, he is technically barred from crossing the border into Canada.
The northern lights are returning to night skies across Canada this Friday
If you missed the brilliant displays of the aurora borealis over North America on May 10, you may have another chance to see them on Friday night.
A pair enjoyed pricey meals and bolted when it was time to pay. Their dine and dash ended in jail
A Welsh couple who dined out on pricey meals and bolted when the bill came is now paying the price, behind bars.
Montreal tech billionaire charged with several sex offences
Robert Miller was charged Thursday with several sexual assault charges after Montreal police reopened an investigation into the tech billionaire.
Loblaw testing out small-format No Frills grocery stores
Loblaw is testing smaller-format discount stores across the country this year as shoppers increasingly look for ways to save on their grocery bill.
Here's what you should know about Donald Trump's conviction in his hush money trial
Donald Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts marks the end of the former president’s historic hush money trial, but the fight over the case is far from over.
Doomsday plot: Jury convicts Idaho man of killing wife and girlfriend's 2 children
An Idaho man was convicted Thursday of killing his wife and his new girlfriend's two youngest kids in a strange triple murder case that included claims of apocalyptic prophesies, zombie children and illicit affairs.
Russian missiles kill 4 in Kharkiv after Biden OKs a Ukrainian response using U.S. weapons
Russian ballistic missiles slammed into an apartment block in Kharkiv and killed at least four people in a night-time attack, Ukrainian officials said Friday, a day after U.S. President Joe Biden gave Kyiv a green light to strike back with American weapons at Russian military assets targeting the country's second-largest city.