The Retire your Ride program ending
Posted March 27, 2011 8:37 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The national Retire Your Ride program is ending, but environmentalists think that’s a mistake, putting the health of Canadians in danger.
Ottawa has invested nearly $100 million in the program that offers to recycle cars 1995 and older by rewarding the owner with incentives like $300.
Ian Bruce with the David Suzuki Foundation says the program has done some good, by taking clunkers that produce a lot of pollution off the road. “It’s really about investing in our health, because otherwise we see the true cost of pollution, things like more asthma and higher healthcare costs.”
Luckily, the program is not coming to an end in BC, because it is independently operated, which Bruce explains we should be thankful for. “Emissions in BC from road transportation from cars and large trucks, account for about a quarter of BC’s green house gas emissions.”
He adds we should follow California which is hoping to pass legislation that would help lower the pollution content of fuel sold in that state.
