Trudeau promises to hand out camping bursaries to promote environmental protection

As part of the Liberal government’s increasingly environmentally focused campaign, today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to give lower-income families $2,000 dollars to cover travelling and camping expenses so that kids can learn about the environment.

“We have listened to the courageous voices of young people who are demanding that their governments take bold action to protect our nature for future generations,” said Trudeau in a statement. “And we know that we raise environmental champions by helping the next generation experience Canada’s natural beauty firsthand.”

Included in this promise was a plan to “plan to teach every young Canadian the skills to camp by Grade 8, and a promise to create a national Experience Canada program that would help 75,000 lower-income families spend up to four days in one of Canada’s national or provincial parks every year,” reports the CBC.

The hope behind this promise is that children will be more environmentally conscious, and that their love of environment will embolden them to fight harder for the environment and conservation protection.

The Liberals have also promised that they would protect 25 percent of natural land and ocean habitats by 2025, if re-elected, and would push for 30 percent of land and marine habitat protection by 2030, according to the Liberal Party website. Additionally, the Liberal Party said they will be consulting and incorporating “Indigenous knowledge, stewardship and leadership and collaborating with other levels of government within their jurisdictions,” reports CBC.

“We know that not only can we protect 25 per cent of our land and 25 per cent of our oceans by 2025, but we must,” Trudeau said.

“It is an essential part, not just of protecting biodiversity, not just of fighting climate change, but of also ensuring that future generations have the opportunities we’ve had growing up and the economic opportunities that come with biodiversity and investments in ecotourism in general. We know that this is the path forward for Canada and that’s why we’re going to do it.”