Uploaded September 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In general, it can be said that Canadians love nature. Most people are in favour of tree planting programs that have proliferated across Canadian cities, thanks to the grants from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities "Growing Canada's Communities Canopies" (GCCC) program. Certainly the 'urban forest' makes our cities more beautiful and there are contributions to 'cooling' and taxpayers do enjoy the simple beauty of well-planned urban tree programs. But Canadians are facing an economic crisis!! Canadians are literally being buried in debt for many 'vanity' tree planting projects that are not critical for municipal operations. For many people, the situation is existential. A Jan. 2025 news report indicated that 50% of Canadians are within $200 of not being able to pay their bills. Yet cities are continuing with tree planting programs where the price of planting, based on the number of trees vis a vis the program cost, may be $200, $380, or even $900 a tree (based on # of trees - the programs may also include equipment like water trucks or staff). Though most people love the idea of urban tree planting, and many people volunteer to help plant trees, once trees do take root, they also can cause very costly problems! Like falling in love with a cute puppy or kitten, trees come with a life-long need for expensive care and maintenance. As with a puppy or kitten - can you afford it? The point is, urban tree planting is a luxury that taxpayers cannot afford right now! Most taxpayers don't realize that of the millions of dollars invested in urban tree planting or rewilding programs, about 1/3 of the trees will die - meaning millions of dollars are wasted. The rationale for urban tree planting is typically based on the claim that trees provide 'climate resilience' or that tree canopies will 'stop climate change' - neither claim is true. A further insult is that many cities engage in carbon credit trading on the trees that you planted and paid for - and even the trees that you paid for and planted in your own yard - making money in some carbon trading scheme that does not seem to appear on city corporate books. Trees are wonderful, as are city beautification plans. But, like back in the old days, perhaps we should be looking to community associations and service clubs to do this kind of work - rather than drawing money from all taxpayers, many of whom are broke and tired of their hard earned money just being buried in the ground by governments. If you appreciate our work, please help us with a small or big donation: etransfers: contact@friendsofsciencesociety Please like, share and subscribe! Thank you!
In general, it can be said that Canadians love nature. Most people are in favour of tree planting programs that have proliferated across Canadian cities, thanks to the grants from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities "Growing Canada's Communities Canopies" (GCCC) program. Certainly the 'urban forest' makes our cities more beautiful and there are contributions to 'cooling' and taxpayers do enjoy the simple beauty of well-planned urban tree programs. But Canadians are facing an economic crisis!! Canadians are literally being buried in debt for many 'vanity' tree planting projects that are not critical for municipal operations. For many people, the situation is existential. A Jan. 2025 news report indicated that 50% of Canadians are within $200 of not being able to pay their bills. Yet cities are continuing with tree planting programs where the price of planting, based on the number of trees vis a vis the program cost, may be $200, $380, or even $900 a tree (based on # of trees - the programs may also include equipment like water trucks or staff). Though most people love the idea of urban tree planting, and many people volunteer to help plant trees, once trees do take root, they also can cause very costly problems! Like falling in love with a cute puppy or kitten, trees come with a life-long need for expensive care and maintenance. As with a puppy or kitten - can you afford it? The point is, urban tree planting is a luxury that taxpayers cannot afford right now! Most taxpayers don't realize that of the millions of dollars invested in urban tree planting or rewilding programs, about 1/3 of the trees will die - meaning millions of dollars are wasted. The rationale for urban tree planting is typically based on the claim that trees provide 'climate resilience' or that tree canopies will 'stop climate change' - neither claim is true. A further insult is that many cities engage in carbon credit trading on the trees that you planted and paid for - and even the trees that you paid for and planted in your own yard - making money in some carbon trading scheme that does not seem to appear on city corporate books. Trees are wonderful, as are city beautification plans. But, like back in the old days, perhaps we should be looking to community associations and service clubs to do this kind of work - rather than drawing money from all taxpayers, many of whom are broke and tired of their hard earned money just being buried in the ground by governments. If you appreciate our work, please help us with a small or big donation: etransfers: contact@friendsofsciencesociety Please like, share and subscribe! Thank you!
