Colleagues, I rise in the Senate today to mark Earth Day, which was celebrated on April 22. The theme for 2019 was the urgent need to protect our species.

People are rallying in Canada and around the world. A people-driven change is on the horizon. People want society to move away from the status quo of habitat destruction and water, air and soil pollution, which put living species on the path to extinction.

Young people are bravely asking: How could we think that humans can thrive in an ever-growing socio-economic system on a planet that does not grow? They believe historians will call this period the madness epoch and that today’s politicians will be blamed for their lack of leadership, logic, courage and vision. Young people will not accept the inaction of governments. They will fight for intergenerational justice.

Earth Day started in 1970, when millions of people across the United States took to the streets to protest the harmful effects of pollution. Smog was becoming a deadly problem, and solid evidence had emerged showing that pollution causes developmental delays in children. Biodiversity was declining due to widespread use of pesticides and other pollutants. That year, the United States Congress created the Environmental Protection Agency, and the administration of Republican President Richard Nixon passed a series of environmental laws, including the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act. After all, conservation is a Conservative value, isn’t it?

The passage of the Endangered Species Act and the ban on DDT were major factors in rescuing certain species from the brink of extinction, like the emblematic bald eagle and the peregrine falcon. This conservation success story demonstrates that sound, effective legislation can help us achieve lofty goals. It is high time that we redoubled our efforts to ensure the survival of every species on the planet, including our own.

Under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, Canada has committed to set aside 17 per cent of its land as protected by the end of 2020. This government has allocated $1.3 billion for conservation efforts, but now we must decide which areas should be protected. In each province and territory, there are areas rich in wildlife.

But conservation efforts must be increased. The world is facing major disruptive events. We have all seen them: climatic extremes, socio-economic crises, ecosystem destruction and species reduction and disappearances.

Biologists have started talking about the sixth mass extinction of species. Of the estimated eight million species on Earth, close to one million are already facing extinction. This week, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services is meeting in Paris to adopt the first ever global ecosystem assessment.

Senators, as legislators, we must move conservation forward. We can help by educating the public on endangered species, reducing consumption, growing native plants, avoiding pollution, reducing the use of plastic products and so much more. I encourage you to lead by example.

Thank you.