A local group is hoping Portage la Prairie city council will keep the environment in mind when making future decisions. Josh Wright, Linda Omichinski, and Janice Madill were all part of a delegation at Monday's meeting, calling on council to consider becoming involved with the Blue Dot Movement. The initiative was started by David Suzuki, with the goal of ensuring Canadian's rights to clean water, fresh air, and safe food.

The initiative aims to start with change on the individual and municipal level, with the ultimate goal of including the right to a healthy environment in the Canadian Constitution. Monday's delegation aimed to get Portage's municipal government on board, and Madill says while becoming a part of the movement doesn't involve any major funding obligations, it aims to create change in the way governments make decisions.

"It's non binding and there's not a huge obligation on their part to put money towards a healthy environment. What it does is legalize our right, and it's part of a process that takes us from the municipality having the right to a healthy environment, to the province, and then to the federal government. Once that right is written into the constitution, then governments from the municipal to federal level are obligated in some way to consider the environment in all of their business."

While the ultimate goal is to have the government thinking about the environment, the responsibility doesn't fall completely on the legislators.

"Whether we're doing a little bit, or a lot, towards recycling, reusing or reducing, there are many other things we can do to have a healthy environment. Whatever ideas you have or have been thinking of, now you can start that dialogue with the council and they have a certain obligation to start considering that in their plans and goals for the city."

Climate change was a popular topic at the meeting, with a delegation from Eco-West following the Blue Dot Committee's presentation. Mayor Irvine Ferris says there's a real change in society's view on environmentalism, and the Blue Dot Movement is one topic they'll continue to discuss.

"It's a trend in our wider society, obviously anyone that has been following the national news have seen the events in Paris unfold this past week. I've seen the presentation back in April at the Natural History Organization's meeting and it was very interesting to see that. This is something a lot of our citizens are interested in. We do want to become a more sustainable, environmentally friendly community. This would certainly set a direction for our community for now, and into the future."

Ferris anticipates council will continue to discuss the matter in the coming months.