Debate over the motion to have city council declare a climate change emergency was substantial at Monday evening’s meeting, but the matter was deferred until September.

Some members of council are concerned about what such a declaration would mean for the bottom line, and about its impact on Whitehorse taxpayers and existing services if the city became bound by the commitments of an emergency declaration.

Some argued Whitehorse is already a leader among municipalities in Canada when it comes to efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Council ultimately decided in favour of a motion from Coun. Dan Boyd to defer the vote.

The purpose is to give city administration time to provide more insight into the impact of an emergency declaration.

“I want to understand the implications of what we are proposing,” Boyd said.

The discussion went on for nearly an hour and a half in front of an audience that filled the council chambers to capacity, and then some.

There were 70 or more members of the public on hand, ranging from seniors to parents with infants and toddlers.

Coun. Steve Roddick proposed the motion for an emergency declaration earlier this month.

In his opening remarks to begin the discussion Monday evening, he emphasized the motion was focused on recognizing the impacts climate change is already having on the city and how to deal with them.

He said it’s about ensuring the quality of life residents enjoy now continues on for future generations.

“We have a responsibility to our city and its citizens to recognize the profound effects that climate change will have on future generations, and show even more leadership in our efforts to respond to this threat,” Roddick said.

All seven members of city council spoke to the issue. It became mired in legislative procedure with a substantial amendment to Roddick’s motion proposed by Coun. Jocelyn Curteanu, and then Boyd’s request to defer.

All seven said climate change is real.

Both Curteanu and Mayor Dan Curtis said Whitehorse is already a municipal leader in Canada when it comes to reducing the city’s carbon footprint.

Canada produces a fraction of the greenhouse gas emissions on a global scale, and Whitehorse produces a tiny fraction of the country’s emissions, Curteanu argued.

Based on those numbers, she told her colleagues, she didn’t think it was prudent for the city to declare an emergency.

Curteanu’s proposed amendment calls on the city to urge Canada to encourage world leaders to work together to do more.

It encourages Canada to assist Third World countries and other large producers of GHGs to meet their Paris Agreement targets.

The amendment calls on Canada to provide local governments with more power and resources to continue their battle against climate change.

There was general agreement around the table that such a lengthy amendment would require time to study.

In deferring the matter to September, council has asked administration to provide an assessment of how both Roddick’s and Curteanu’s proposals would affect the city.

Coun. Samson Hartland said he knows climate change is real and has for many years.

As a father of three, his family does what it can on their small hobby farm to ensure they minimize their footprint on the environment, he said. And he thanked Roddick for bringing forward his motion.

But he also questioned the use of the word emergency.

Hartland said the lack of affordable housing in the city is in a state of emergency, citing a bleak outlook for creating more availability in the foreseeable future.

The councillor said he could not send a message that the city is in the same state of emergency with it efforts to fight climate change.

As it was with Curtis and Curteanu, Hartland said he would argue the city is already a municipal leader in taking steps to reduce its impact on the environment.

Roddick’s motion calls upon the city to enhance and accelerate its commitment to protect Whitehorse from the impact of climate change.

It calls for the inclusion of a carbon budget in the city’s annual financial budget that would identify “carbon emissions associated with each capital budget line item and the total relative impact of the capital budget on the city’s emission reduction goals.”

Both councillors Jan Stick and Laura Cabbot expressed outright support for Roddick’s motion. Stick said she also needed more time to look at the proposed amendment by Curteanu.

Like others on council, she said she has not seen it in writing, and it appears to be quite substantial.

Cabbot said she would agree with more time, but would like to have administration’s review of Roddick’s motion and Curteanu’s proposed amendment before city council’s annual three-week break in August.

City manager Linda Rapp told council it would take some effort by city staff to provide an assessment of the two proposals and the impact they would have.

It’s already into vacation season for staff, and it would be difficult to complete the work prior to the August break, she indicated.

Cabbot suggested Roddick’s motion does not call for a mammoth and burdensome shift in the way the city makes decisions.

There is ample evidence of the destructive force of climate change, and plenty of evidence its impact is greater and occurring faster in Canada and in the North particularly, she said.

Cabbot said the good news is everybody can do something to counter global warming by cutting carbon emissions. Municipalities are on the front line as they provide the services, they operate the key infrastructure, she added.

“We are being asked and we are being urged to do more by our citizens, and we are being asked to do more now,” she said.

Cabbot said there are many cities in Canada that are greener than Whitehorse, and are doing everything to minimize their impact on the environment.

As the evening ended with the vote to defer the discussion to September, council chambers quickly emptied of the many who where there to hear the debate, including Erica Mah.

Mah was among a handful of delegates who appeared before city council June 17 to impress upon city council how citizens are looking for leadership to combat climate change.

In a brief interview, she said she was not disappointed by the deferral.

“I think it shows a real commitment to find common ground,” Mah said.

Roddick said he too was OK with the deferral, as it will give members of city council more time to have frank and open discussions with each other before the matter comes back in September.

Nor was he bothered by the suggestion from Curtis that it was standing-room-only Monday night because somebody had lobbied for a large turnout.

Roddick said he doesn’t see anything wrong with engaging the citizens of Whitehorse, adding he had posted on FaceBook asking people to come out.

There are people in the city who have something to say, and he wants to amplify their voices, he said.

Around the question of the cost to create a greater effort by Whitehorse to reduce carbon emissions, the councillor said he wanted to know what the cost would be if they didn’t.