So what has the Brampton Environmental Alliance been up to in 2025 and why should you care? Let me start by answering the second question first. While economic challenges such as food inflation, home affordability and U.S. tariffs dominate the news cycle, the impacts of climate change and environmental destruction take bigger and bigger bites from our pay cheques each year while negatively affecting the lives of every Canadian.

According to the Canadian Climate Institute, “Climate-related damages increase the average household’s cost of living by $700 each year, in the form of higher grocery bills due to supply-chain disruptions, rising home insurance premiums and tax hikes to pay for disaster recovery and infrastructure repairs“. That figure is expected to rise to over $2,000 annually by 2050.

An Insurance Bureau of Canada report cited in the Globe and Mail January 13, 2025, tallied insured damage from severe weather events at $8.5-billion, shattering the previous $6-billion record set in 2016 when a wildfire burned much of Fort McMurray to the ground. The Globe goes onto report that, “the 2024 tally was triple the losses recorded in 2023, and 12 times the annual average of $701-million in the decade between 2001 and 2010“.

These costs are expected to continue rising significantly over the coming decades even as the quality of life for the average Canadian deteriorates. Many homes in risk-prone areas will be deemed uninsurable at any cost. Declining air quality and increased number of 30 degree plus days will combine to keep Canadians indoors more frequently, depriving us of much needed recreation time in nature.

When we are allowed to go outside in the future, the plants and animals that we experience will be very different from today. That is the key finding of a 2024 study conducted by University of Toronto postdoctoral researcher, Alessandro Filazzola and Marc Johnston the former director of UoT’s Centre for Urban Environments. 

Analyzing the climate change effects on more than 2,000 animal species in the 60 most populated cities in Canada, the research pair predicts every city in the study will experience substantial urban species losses. Toronto, for example, could see up to 195 species disappear by the end of this century. The study notes that as urban ecosystems continue to transform due to global warming, shifts in our urban wildlife will have implications for our cultural identity and our mental health. As Professor Johnson says, “We know that having more green space and natural areas around us is very important for our well-being. If we lose nature, and the animals associated with it, it can negatively affect our psychological health.” 

So, in light of these high stakes, what has the Brampton Environmental Alliance done in 2025 to protect our local environment?

In closing let me say that the BEA couldn’t engage in any of these activities without your support both moral and financial. When representatives from the BEA speak to civic leaders about environmental issues and priorities it’s critical that we represent the views of thousands of Brampton residents who are concerned about environmental sustainability but who are limited in their ability to be involved. We still want and need to hear from you.

You can provide feedback in several ways. The simplest is to send us an email and let us know how we are doing. Tell us what you like or what you want to see changed. You can also tag us through social media on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram.

Save the date to attend our annual general member meeting the evening of March 2nd, 2026. We’d love to meet you in person. Agenda and other details will be published soon.

Finally, we know times are tough but, if you can, please consider joining the BEA as a paid member. Our annual dues are very reasonable and these fees allow us to pay for things like our website, insurance and other administrative expenses.

Of course these projects and activities won’t solve the climate crisis or address the problems noted above by themselves. And there is always more that we should be doing. But it’s a start. It’s something positive. And maybe, just maybe, it will be the catalyst to encourage others. For sure it’s better than doing nothing besides hoping things will somehow work themselves out. They won’t. It’s up to use to help ourselves and each other. That’s our intention for 2026. Please join us in whatever way you are able.

Wishing all of you all the best for a happy, healthy, and environmentally sustainable 2026!