Hundreds of people sang songs and held homemade signs calling for environmental action at an Earth Day rally outside the Manitoba Legislature building in Winnipeg on Tuesday.
The crowd included young people and school-age children, many of whom were driven to the rally on school buses.
The children held signs with slogans like “Pollution is never the solution” and “We love the Earth,” standing alongside members of Seniors for Climate, whose banner read “Later is too late” in bold, blue lettering.
Inside the building’s rotunda, Environment and Climate Change Minister Mike Moyes said it’s hopeful to see a “spectrum right across the ages” lining the legislature steps on Tuesday.
The theme for this year’s Earth Day celebrations is “Our Power, Our Planet.”
“Each and every one of us, every community, has the power — real power — to protect our planet,” said Moyes, before announcing the government will spend more than $2 million to fund environment initiatives.
The bulk of that funding — $1.86 million or about 90 per cent — will go to the Climate Action Fund to support locally-led environment projects across the province.Â
Of that amount, about $675,000 will go to five energy-efficiency projects aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions from energy use in homes, businesses and transportation.
Moyes said $500,000 will be spent on expanding electric vehicle infrastructure across the province, which includes installing 51 new chargers in Brandon, Morden, and in rural and remote communities.
The province is putting $430,000 toward three climate resiliency projects in the Pembina Valley and Assiniboine West watershed districts, Sagkeeng Anicinabe Nation, and Grand Rapids.
Moyes said $255,000 will go to 17 community-based climate projects across Manitoba, including in Steinbach, Altona and Dauphin.
The last chunk of funding, about $200,000, is going to the University of Winnipeg’s Prairie Climate Centre, which offers accessible climate science data and research to users across the country through the Climate Atlas of Canada.
“Together, we are building a Manitoba that is cleaner, stronger and more prepared for the challenges of tomorrow,” Moyes said. Â
“Let’s keep using our power to protect our planet.”
