About 80 people took part in a town hall meeting in Bayfield Thursday evening on climate change.
It was hosted by the Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation, the Huron-Bruce Federal Liberal Association, and former candidate Allan Thompson.
Thompson stated after the meeting he saw two separate processes at play -- the process itself, and then the message that came out of it.
As far as the process was concerned, he felt many of the people at the Bayfield Town Hall appreciated the fact that the government wanted to hear what they had to say.
As far as the message is concerned, Thompson heard that rural issues have to be recognized. He explains one of those is transportation and the fact that it's much easier to give up driving in an urban centre than it is in a rural community where there is no public transportation and that has to be addressed.
David Bray, an environmentalist from OMAFRA, provided a briefing on climate change and the rural context. Bray said climate change is being observed in the Great Lakes basin, with the arrival of orchids that have moved north, southern species of flying squirrels and fish. There is also less ice cover on the great lakes, which can contribute to erratic weather and more severe storms.
"We think there’s more severe storms than what we’re used to,"’ Bray said. "Severe winter storms and floods have all increased greatly in number since the late 1980s."
Pam Scharfe from the Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation, talked about the impact of climate change on water levels and the area’s beaches. She was encouraged by the fact that the government was reaching out for public input on its climate change strategy.
Allan Thompson concluded that all of the points made at the meeting will be collected and passed on to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change. He also hopes Thursday night's meeting will lead to more town hall forums.
One of the break-out groups at the Bayfield Town Hall climate forum Thursday, June 23rd.
