When a snap election was called in August, Canadians had a little over a month to prepare for a federal election and digest the platforms put forward by the political parties vying for their votes.

Each party focused on what they thought would get them the most seats in the House. The New Democrats talked about affordability writ large, the Conservatives prioritized financial well-being, the Bloc put Quebec’s interests first, the Greens focused on environmental sustainability and the Liberals promised a suite of measures to help stop COVID in its tracks.

Months of intense planning goes into every election campaign. So how are these platforms conceived and developed in the first place? Who decides what makes the final cut? And what happens when something goes wrong?

An insider's look at creating political platforms - In Their Words 08

At the onset of the pandemic, it was difficult to predict how the virus would impact our lives. We understood that hospitals were at risk of overflowing, and we knew we needed to prepare for that. There were also a million other things that we didn’t or couldn’t predict would happen due to COVID-19, but if we have learned anything, it’s to expect the unexpected. And we certainly have got better at it.
 
This virus is not the only existential threat that humanity currently faces. Climate change is here, and Canadians are seeing it’s disastrous effects. We collectively failed to address it before entire towns in Alberta and British Columbia were wiped off the map by forest fires, before people died as a result of heat waves, and before neighbourhoods were transformed into shallow lakes. And the reality is, it’s only going to get worse from here. 

That’s why, as we scale up efforts to soften the impacts of climate change, we need to also work toward adapting to them. We have to alter our policies and investments around infrastructure so that we can adapt. 

But much like the pandemic, changes in the climate are extremely unpredictable, so how do we know what those investments should be and prepare for the challenges that we do not expect? 

Today I am speaking with Ryan Ness. Ryan is adaptation research director at the Canadian Institute for Climate Choices (CICC). We will be discussing the state of Canada’s infrastructure in relation to climate change, the CICC’s report on navigating the known and unknown costs of adapting to it, and what policies could be implemented to help Canada remain resilient in the face of it.

PO Podcast 139 - Embracing the unknown cost of climate change

Le gouvernement fédéral a dévoilé le 29 mars son plan très attendu de réduction des émissions de gaz à effet de serre (GES). Le plan détaille entre autres comment le Canada prévoit atteindre son objectif de générer 40 % moins de GES en 2030 par rapport à 2005.

Pour parler de ce projet complexe et certainement ambitieux, le directeur du Centre d’excellence sur la fédération canadienne de l’IRPP Charles Breton s’est entretenu avec celui qui aura la mission d’en assurer la mise en œuvre, le ministre de l’Environnement et du Changement climatique M. Steven Guilbeault.

PO Podcast 143 - Le plan pour un air pur et une économie forte

Policy Options is a digital magazine published by the Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP) in Montreal, Quebec. It features daily articles on issues of public policy by contributors from academia, research institutions, the political world, the public service and the non-profit and private sectors. We’re committed to introducing our listeners to a diversity of viewpoints on the important public policy challenges of our time.  

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PO Podcast 139 - Embracing the unknown cost of climate change

Policy Options Podcast

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