WINDSOR -- The City of Windsor will be asked to join those other municipalities which have declared a climate change state of emergency.
The City's Environment, Transportation and Public Safety Standing Committee supported the recommendation on Wednesday put forward by the Windsor-Essex County Environment Committee.
City council will eventually have the final say, but councillor and committee member Kieran McKenzie says there are compelling reasons.
McKenzie says the declaration would put the city in a better footing to deal with climate events like flooding.
"We need to look at the services, our capacity to deliver those services, water management and infrastructure,” says McKenzie. “You name it, transportation; these issues cross latterly over every sector of service delivery that we offer as a municipality."
The declaration from the Windsor-Essex County Environment Committee will be submitted to municipal councils across Windsor-Essex for approval.
The resolution approved by the committee recognizes the climate emergency as one with "no forseeable conclusion in sight" and will require "permanent changes" in how both the city and county conduct their business.
It also highlights the economic and health impacts of climate change and identifies the need to work together to contribute to the greater national and global climate change response.
Municipalities across Windsor-Essex would join the likes of Edmonton, Vancouver and Halifax should they declare a climate emergency.
