The next time students from across Saskatchewan hold a climate change rally on the steps of the legislature, Environment Minister Dustin Duncan may be there.
Duncan said he met with a handful of the rally organizers Wednesday over lunch. The meeting was originally set for a half-hour, but Duncan said they talked about climate change and how to address it for nearly a full hour.
“I think we were able to talk about a lot of things, including net metering and I had an opportunity — I don’t want to speak for them — but I had an opportunity to kind of walk them through the decision making process and why we made the changes. I like to think that there was a level of understanding,” Duncan said.
The province and SaskPower have faced criticism recently for changes to the solar net metering program.
In addition to this, Duncan talked to the students about early plans to help communities like Estevan and Coronach transition away from conventional coal power and interest the province has small modular reactors.
Duncan made a commitment to speak to the students at a future climate rally outside the legislature. He doesn’t know an exact date, but it will be a few weeks away.
Over the course of the year, thousands of students have attended rallies calling on provincial leaders to do more about climate change.
These rallies typically take place on Fridays, inspired by Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. Similar rallies take place around the world, with about half a million people attending one in Montreal on Sept. 27.