Ottawa, Ontario – World Environment Day, commemorated each year on June 5, concerns all of us directly. According to the MP for Miramichi, Tilly O’Neill Gordon, it is one of the principal vehicles to stimulate awareness of the environment and enhance political action and attention.

"There are so many little things we can do to celebrate World Environment Day, including walks, bicycle parades, concerts, planting trees and recycling and cleaning campaigns," said O’Neill Gordon.

World Environment Day was launched by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972 to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment.

The theme for WED this year is "Your Planet Needs You – Unite to Combat Climate Change." It reflects the urgency for nations to agree on a new deal at the climate convention meeting in Copenhagen some 180 days later in the year, and the links with overcoming poverty and improved management of forests.

Our agenda is to give a human face to environmental issues; empower people to become active agents of sustainable and equitable development; promote an understanding that communities are pivotal to changing attitudes toward the environment; and advocate partnership that will ensure that all nations and peoples enjoy a safer and more prosperous future.

"Let’s take the opportunity on World Environment Day to look at the state of our environment in our communities. Let's take the time to think about what each one of us must do and start working together now to preserve all life on Earth," added O’Neill Gordon.