Dear Mayor of Vaudreuil Guy Pilon, 

It is clear to see that carbon emissions have been growing at an exponential rate over the past few years. In 2022, Canada’s total emissions have increased by 2.1% from the previous year which might not seem like much, but this slight increase is equivalent to 14.2 megatons of carbon dioxide (Climate Institute Canada, 2022). In Canada, there is no shortage of drivers. In 2022, 26.3 million people used GHG-emitting vehicles as their primary means of transportation and this percentage shows no sign of slowing down (Statistic Canada, 2022). We, students at John Abbott College, are trying to raise awareness of the Climate Change cause because continuing down this path will only lead to a worse, and almost unlivable future that your generation will luckily never see. We call upon you to install more sidewalks in the city of Vaudreuil, to allow the citizens to roam freely (having them on the sidewalk with walkers is not safe) This will lead to a safer way of life while encouraging the citizens of our city to use ecological means of transportation. According to Statistics Canada (2021), out of the 72,900 residents of Vaudreuil, 64,000 of them use gas-emitting vehicles every day. To conclude, this statistic shows that we must take immediate action in implementing a system of ecological infrastructures such as sidewalks to reduce GHG emissions to the lowest amount possible and possibly see a positive change in our climate. Here is a link to further reinforce our point, which explains that the presence of sidewalks has a positive effect on the tendency for adults to take walks: https://www.bts.gov/archive/publications/special_reports_and_issue_briefs/issue_briefs/number_12/entire 

Thank you for your time, 

 From Brandon Casey and Charles Dunwoody.