Honourable senators, 494 Canadian municipalities have declared states of climate emergency. We hear about big cities’ efforts to respond to the impacts of climate change, but small rural communities like Antigonish are also important climate action leaders.

Recently, Antigonish town and county, Paqtnkek Mi’kmaw Nation and St. Francis Xavier University formed a regional climate partnership. The partnership focus is awareness, mitigation and adaptation. The partners’ individual efforts include Paqtnkek’s three renewable energy projects: two solar, and a community wind project with 12 other Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq bands.

The Town of Antigonish is a member of the Alternative Resource Energy Authority, which owns the Ellershouse Wind Farm, and is exploring an investment in solar gardens, as well as plans to install electric vehicle charging stations. The authority currently provides our town with 63% renewable energy, but the goal is to reach 96%.

Antigonish County, a founder of the Antigonish Community Energy Cooperative, and Antigonish Climate Resilience, has focused on solar infrastructure for its buildings, and is planning other carbon emission reductions through infrastructure improvements.

StFX University is, of course, focused on its own emissions reductions and contributes to local, national and international efforts to respond to climate change.

StFx Professor Dave Risk’s FLUXLAB website says:

Whether by foot, truck, drone, robot, or satellite, we work to improve the measurement of greenhouse gases . . . . we work in the Arctic to measure the emission of gases associated with permafrost decay. But . . . . we’re largely focused on energy sector emissions, where we aim to provide information and solutions that will help Canada’s energy sector achieve methane emission reductions.

StFX’s Climate Services and Research Centre educates future climate professionals, provides independent and impartial information and develops knowledge-based best practices for climate change adaptation.

Professors at the new centre include Hugo Beltrami, expert on energy transfer and regional climate modelling; Andrew MacDougall, expert on long-term climate change and carbon budgets; Lisa Kellman, expert on greenhouse gas exchange processes in aquatic and soil environments; Patrick Withey, expert on evaluating the economic impact of climate change; and Corrine Cash, of the Coady Institute, who is working on remote community renewable energy power generation.

Colleagues, StFX, the Antigonish and Paqtnkek communities punch above their weight in climate leadership. This rural climate partnership is exemplary and deserving of our praise and encouragement.

Thank you, wela’lioq.