Meet the city’s Working Group on Climate Action
As part of its response to the city’s declaration of a climate emergency, Kingston City Council created a ‘Working Group on Climate Action.’ The working group, formed in a motion by Councillors Lisa Osanic and Robert Kiley, is co-chaired by Councillor Bridget Doherty and Dan Hendry of the Limestone District School Board.
The working group was created with a mandate “to promote, engage, inform, and challenge community organizations, institutions, and businesses to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions in the Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional sector as soon as possible at little to no cost” and has already met five times since its inception.
As part of its work, the working group has conducted public consultation at an open event held on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2019 where it gathered feedback. It also received dozens of responses on the City’s Get Involved platform on topics such as recycling, plastic use, licensing, transit, air conditioning use, tree planting and more.
This working group met for its final time yesterday, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2019 and is currently in the process of finalizing its report to Kingston City Council, which is expected to be presented on Tuesday, Oct. 15. It is assumed the group will be dissolved at that meeting, though the City’s work on climate action doesn’t end there. Council is also hosting Dianne Saxe, an Environmental Lawyer and the former Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, at a special open-house-format council meeting. Members of the public can join Council at this special meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2019 at 6:00 p.m. in Memorial Hall at City Hall.
The membership of the Working Group on Climate Action is:
- Co-Chair: Councillor Bridget Doherty, City of Kingston
- Co-Chair Dan Hendry, Limestone District School Board
- Councillor Robert Kiley, City of Kingston
- Beth Sills, Associate Director, St. Lawrence College
- Dr. H. J. Kowal, Principal, Royal Military College
- Michael Fraser, Vice-Principal, Queen’s Univeristy
- Kathryn McCleary, Kingston Environmental Advisory Forum
- Katrina Furlanetto, Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority
- Karen Cross, Executive Director, Greater Kingston Chamber of Commerce
- Shannon Claggett, Chairman and President, SWITCH Kingston
- Lisa Munday, KFL&A Public Health
- Kristin Mullin, Executive Director, Sustainable Kingston
- Emily Ferguson, Kingston Climate Hub
- Gavin Hutchison, 350 Kingston
- Dave Fowler, Limestone District School Board
- Terry Shea, Chair of the Board, Algonquin-Lakeshore Catholic District School Board
- Rachel Laforest, Conseil des écoles publiques de l’Est de l’Ontario
- Michel Charron, Conseil des ecoles catholiques du Centre-est
- Harry Sullivan, Executive Director, Kingston Construction Association
- Allen Lucas, Utilities Kingston
Born and raised in Kingston, Josie Vallier bleeds limestone. An avid council watcher since 2004, she first began reporting on municipal affairs in 2011, helping to modernize meetings and make them more accessible through social media and live video. When she isn’t focused on City Hall, she’s an avid gamer, theatre supporter, and Disney fan.