M-53 Principles for a sustainable and equitable future

That:
(a) the House recognize and honour that, (i) Canada, as a nation, has a rich history of resource-dependent rural communities providing the economic prosperity many Canadians have benefited from, (ii) this prosperity has often been at the expense of or specifically excluded local Indigenous peoples and communities, (iii) the future of these resource-dependent communities is at risk due to climate change, the movement of rural residents to urban centres, the loss of ecological diversity and integrity, and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, (iv) the majority of the landscape in Canada is remote and sparsely populated and rural communities are crucial in our understanding and management of localized climate change impacts; and


(b) in the opinion of the House, for all federal COVID-19 relief and recovery funding, programming and legislation, the government should abide by the following principles: (i) be in harmony with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, (ii) it be applied and distributed equitably by federal riding, geographic region, and province or territory, (iii) prioritize and incentivize projects that reduce or eliminate greenhouse gas emissions or waste, (iv) prioritize and incentivize initiatives that improve the water-retentive capacities of soils and that facilitate the recharge of groundwaters, (v) prioritize and incentivize projects that can be built and managed by local businesses and agencies to create a diversity of local, long-term, well-paying employment opportunities and small business initiatives that keep profits and benefits within the community.