Environmental policy of the Harper government
Encyclopedia
Since 2006, the Canadian
Conservative Party
government led by Prime Minister
Stephen Harper
adopted several environmental policies in order to fight rising greenhouse emissions, pollution problems and climate change, although it has also been heavily criticised by environmental groups such as Greenpeace
.
Harper and the Conservative government criticized the Kyoto Accord on measures to fight against global warming, saying that the economy would be crippled if Canada was forced to meet the Accord's timetable to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions. In 2002, Harper wrote a letter to members of the former Canadian Alliance
party, mentioning that the Accord is a "socialist conspiracy" and questioned sciences that are proving global warming and in a meeting with other Commonwealth countries in Uganda
commented that Kyoto was a mistake that should not be repeated. He also stated that the Accord "focuses on carbon dioxide
, which is essential to life, rather than upon pollutants." Harper considered the objectives implemented by Canada to meet its goals were not realistic and later criticized further the accord which did not set any targets for the world's biggest polluters. He proposed a "Made in Canada" plan that would concentrate its efforts on reducing smog
pollution from vehicles. In a CTV report in October, however, the Conservatives had mentioned that it would be an approach rather than a plan. While repeatedly mentioning that the goals will not be achieved before the timeline, John Baird
mentioned on March 17, 2007 that the government had no plans to abandon the Kyoto Accord Recently, the Conservatives' position has been backed by five independent economists, including Toronto-Dominion Bank
chief economist Don Drummond. Drummond, who has been consulted by political parties of all stripes, said that the "economic cost [of implementing Kyoto] would be at least as deep as the recession in the early 1980s", agreeing with the results of a study compiled by the environment department.
Opposition members led by Liberal MP Pablo Rodriguez tabled bill C-288 that would force the government to respect the measures of the Kyoto Accord and forced it to present its measures within 60 days. The bill passed third reading on February 14, 2007, 161-113. The Conservatives had appealed the Speaker of the House, Peter Milliken
to make the bill invalid citing it was forcing them to spend money against its will, which was denied. While criticizing the Opposition bill as an empty law without any action plans and not giving authority to spend, Harper announced that he would respect the law, despite earlier threats by the government not to respect it. Toronto-Dominion Bank
chief economist Don Drummond
dismissed bill C-288 as unworkable. On April 19, 2007, Baird told the Canadian Senate
environmental committee that respecting the Kyoto Accord would have a negative impact on the economic citing that Canada would return to a recession similar to the early 1980s
while gas
and natural gas
prices would skyrocket despite a United Nations report that said that the impact would be minimal.
In the 2007 Throne speech, the government officially abandoned the Kyoto objectives in favour of their policies and accords with Asian and Pacific countries in which Harper joined the US-led the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate on September 24, 2007, the United States
, China
, Japan
, India
, South Korea
and Australia
, several among them being among the biggest polluters. The APP's plans goals are lower than the Kyoto Protocol and consists on the introduction of newer and cleaner technology including solar, coal and nuclear power.
, Harper announced some measures such as tax credits to environmentally friendly measures, a repackaged air quality health index and a program to retrofit diesel school buses. Harper mentioned that these measures would "move industry from voluntary compliance to strict enforcement; replace the current ad hoc, patchwork system with clear, consistent, and comprehensive national standards, and institute a holistic approach that doesn't treat the related issues of pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions in isolation." Prior to the announcement, activist groups listed a series of recommendations including regulations on big industries and compliance with the Kyoto Protocol
.
Details of the Clean Air Act
were revealed on October 19, 2006 by Harper along with Environment Minister Rona Ambrose
and Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon
. Its main plan was to reduce greenhouse emissions at about 45-65% of the 2003 levels. The goal was set for the year 2050 while a decrease of greenhouse emissions would be noticed in 2020. There were also regulations set for vehicle fuel consumption for 2011, while new measures would be set for industries starting in 2010. Finally, oil companies will have to reduce gas emissions for each barrel produced. However, companies can increase their production until 2020. The plan was heavily criticized by opposition parties and several environmental groups, with New Democratic Party
leader Jack Layton
stating that the act does little to prevent climate change. Since the opposition threatened to turn this into an election issue, the Conservative Party agreed to rework the act.
The Conservatives made a detailed and revised plan on April 25, 2007, after leaks of a speech which was supposed to be made by John Baird
on April 26 were discovered after some Liberal MPs received a fax of the speech. The new plan seeks to stop the increase of greenhouse gas emissions before 2012 and reduce the amount as much as 20% by 2020. Targets would be imposed to industries before 2015, while home appliances would need to be more energy efficient. There were also rewards for companies that reduced the amount of emissions since 2006. On the next day, Baird announced additional measures including one that would force industries to reduce greenhouse emissions by 18 percent by 2010 while auto industries would have a mandatory fuel-efficient standard by 2011. Later in 2007, Baird revealed other plans and deadlines that industries must met. The plan mentioned that over 700 big-polluter companies, including oil and gas, pulp and paper, electricity and iron and steel companies, will have to reduce green-house emissions by six percent from 2008 to 2010 and will have to report data on their emissions on every May 31.
However, critics including the World Wildlife Fund said that the greenhouse emissions in 2020 will still be higher than the 1990 levels, while Canada will not meet Kyoto targets before 2025, 13 years after its objectives. High-profile figures including David Suzuki
and Former US Vice-President Al Gore
also criticized the plan as been insufficient.
announced $345 million of funding and other measures to promote the use of biodiesel
and ethanol
in policies related to the Clean Air Act. Among that, diesel fuel, regular fuel and heating oil
would require a small amount of cleaner energy by 2012. Measures also affected farmers in diversifying their agriculture and farming equipment.
On January 17, 2006, Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn
and new Environment Minister John Baird
announced an additional $230 million for the development of clean energy technology
Two days later, Harper, Baird and Dunn presented a new program initiative called ecoEnergy Renewable Initiative which would concentrate on the increase of cleaner energy sources such as wind
, biomass
, small hydro
and ocean
energies. The cost of the program was about $1.5 billion. Some money was also planned for incentives for companies and industries that would used more cleaner energy sources.
On January 21, 2007, the Government announced another related funding announcement by pledging $300 million by helping homeowners across the country by become more energy-efficient including cash reward for those implementing measures to improve the efficiency. Critics of the measures such as Friends of Earth Canada and Liberal environment critic David McGuinty
, mentioned though that the Conservatives had used some of the programs and strategies planned by opposition parties including a remake of the EnerGuide Program launched by the Liberals.
in the light of growing concerns made by the United Kingdom
government of Tony Blair
as well as a report
by Sir Nicholas Stern
, a former chief economist World Bank
who predicted a 20% drop of the global economy. Layton tabled a private member's bill which contained plans to respect Kyoto's targets. After their meeting, they agreed on a formal review of the Clean Air Act
.
members in Helsinki, Finland, a meeting in which he was expecting to condemn the Kyoto Accord. Critics cited that Harper cancelled its meeting to avoid the criticism from EU officials. Harper's director of communications cited that his legislation agenda forced him to withdraw from the meeting. Furthermore, Ambrose attended a two-week November 2006 UN summit meeting in Nairobi, Kenya on the issue of the Kyoto Accord and it targets. Opposition members have claimed that her presence was an embarrassment for Canada.
In late 2007, Harper attended the Commonwealth Summit Meeting in Uganda. While Harper qualified the Kyoto as a mistake, he rejected claims that Canada was a holdout on climate change action. A deal was reached between the 53 members of the organization but blocked a proposal to exclude developing countries to comply to emission reductions. Harper will also attend the global conference on climate changes in Bali, Indonesia in December 2007. He commented that the deal in Uganda will set the stage for the meeting in Indonesia. John Baird who was also at the meeting mentioned that any agreements would have to include reduction targets in which the biggest polluters such as the United States, China and India must comply. A last-ditch agreement, after difficult discussions, was made late in the Summit which consisted of a two-year plan which would lead to a new treaty replacing the Kyoto Protocol as well as additional negotiations until 2009 that would force countries to set basic parameters of greenhouse reduction goals. Baird, while citing that the last-minute talks where a positive step for a future agreement but was disappointing about some off the agreement was watered down and that "the deal was almost completely stripped of any reference to numbers and targets that could have been the starting point for the discussion". Climate changes was also a topic at the G8 meeting in Japan
in July 2008 where the organization had agreed to fix an objective on reducing greenhouse emissions by 50 cent by 2050 although it was not clear whether the goal was based on either 1990 or current (2008) levels.
In late November 2009 Stephen Harper decided that he would attend the climate change conference in Copenhagen, where a new agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol will be negotiated. Minister of the Environment Jim Prentice will be attending along with leaders of some opposition parties. Harper has claimed that Canada will, despite heavy criticism, not commit to any further emissions reductions and will stick to the current plan of 20% below 2006 levels by 2020, however Harper also said that the government would be willing to make minor changes to the plan. Where the changes would be made is currently unknown.
had given a "fossil of the day" award to the country along with Australia
for contributing less to the battle of climate change. The country was also ranked 51st out of 56 countries of those who were part of a climate treaty in 1992 or contributed a least 1% of greenhouse emissions according to Germanwatch, a Bonn, Germany development group which ranked countries based on their contribution of fighting greenhouse emissions. The deputy leader of the Green Party
David Chernushenko had included Canada in an "axis of environmental evil" along with the United States
and Australia
.
Due to the mounted controversy surrounding the Clean Air Act, there were reports according to the Canadian Press that Ambrose would be relieved of her duties as Environment Minister and replaced by Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice
in a future cabinet shuffle. However, on January 4, 2007, Ambrose was replaced by the President of the Treasury Board John Baird
Kumi Naidoo, Greenpeace
's international executive director, has said, "I don’t think Prime Minister Stephen Harper has provided leadership on the climate question at all. If anything, he has held it back."
In 2011, Canada's commissioner of the environment and sustainable development, Scott Vaughan, stated that the government was not only failing to meet Kyoto standards, but also those of other agreements it had signed. He also criticized the Harper government of dramatically lowering its greenhouse gas emission targets since 2007, which have dropped by 90% (from 282 million tonnes to 28 million tonnes).
vowed to influenced the Tory government and forced them to send the $328 million funding for the province. However, the government announced $1.5 billion for supporting provincial projects including the $328 million Quebec requested.
The government also secured $200 million of funding for Ottawa's O-Train expansion project after Treasury Board President John Baird
reviewed the project to make sure there were no cost overruns. The money was secured after Ottawa's new council voted on the project. However, in November, Nepean-Carleton MP Pierre Poilievre
announced that, despite opposition from most of Ottawa City Council
, $35 million of the transit funding was to be diverted for a new Rideau River
bridge crossings between the two Ottawa growing suburban communities, Barrhaven
and Riverside South. Poilievre had stated that if the city of Ottawa would present a transit plan, a request to the government for new money for public transit projects will be granted. Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty
stated that no provincial money will be given to the bridge project if no rapid transit corridor is included.
On March 1, 2007, while launching the International Polar Year
that a worldwide program that will focus on intense researches on the Arctic
regions, including climate change effects, the government announced a $150 million/4 year funding for over 40 projects related to the IPY program.
On March 6, 2007, the government announced over $1.5 billion in funding in Ontario for improving the city of Toronto's transit system
including the extension of a subway
line to Vaughan
. $586 million of the funding went for a new power grid from Ontario to Manitoba
that would provide cleaner hydro energy
.
As part of the 2007 budget on March 19, 2007, Flaherty announced a rebate of up to $2,000 for people who purchase fuel-efficient vehicles. He also announced a new levy to penalize consumers who purchase vehicles with a high-fuel consumption rate: $1,000 for every litre consumed per 100 kilometres would be imposed (up to a total of $4,000) if the vehicle consumes over 13 litres of fuel per 100 kilometres in the city. However, in the 2008 budget, the clean-car rebate will be scrapped in 2009.
As part of the 2008 budget on February 26, 2008, $500 million was announced for public transit, $250 million for research in developing more fuel-efficient vehicles and $300 million for the development a more advanced nuclear reactor and to improve safety at the Chalk River, Ontario
Nuclear facility which shut down during the fall of 2007 after there were safety concerns.
In the 2009 Federal Budget the government introduced billions of dollars in spending on the environment and green initiatives including,
$1 billion over five years for clean energy research development and demonstration projects, including capture and storage;
A new $1 billion Green Infrastructure Fund to support projects like public transit, sustainable energy and waste management; $1.3 billion over two years to support renovations and energy retrofits that will make Canada’s social housing stock more energy efficient, to be split on a 50/50 cost-shared basis with the provinces, $300 million over two years to go to the ecoENERGY Retrofit program to support an additional 200,000 energy-saving home retrofits; $250 million over two years to maintain federal laboratories; $85 million over two years for key Arctic research stations, and $2 million over two years for a feasibility study for a world-class Arctic research station; $80.5 million over the next two years to manage and assess federal contaminated sites, which will facilitate remediation work totalling an estimated $165 million over the next two years and contribute to an improved environment as well as employment opportunities; $75 million for national parks; and $10 million in 2009-2010 to improve the government’s annual reporting on key environmental indicators such as clean air, clean water and greenhouse gas emissions.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Conservative Party
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...
government led by Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...
adopted several environmental policies in order to fight rising greenhouse emissions, pollution problems and climate change, although it has also been heavily criticised by environmental groups such as Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
.
Criticism of Kyoto Accord
One prominent policy of the government since its access to power was its position over the Kyoto Accord in which the federal government ratified the Protocol in the late 1990s. The Conservative government had criticized the Accord for having negative impacts on the environment while not providing concrete results as far as greenhouse emission reductions and proposed a new policy which met with criticism from various environmental organizations and the opposition parties.Harper and the Conservative government criticized the Kyoto Accord on measures to fight against global warming, saying that the economy would be crippled if Canada was forced to meet the Accord's timetable to reduce greenhouse gas
Greenhouse gas
A greenhouse gas is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone...
emissions. In 2002, Harper wrote a letter to members of the former Canadian Alliance
Canadian Alliance
The Canadian Alliance , formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance , was a Canadian conservative political party that existed from 2000 to 2003. The party was the successor to the Reform Party of Canada and inherited its position as the Official Opposition in the House of Commons and held...
party, mentioning that the Accord is a "socialist conspiracy" and questioned sciences that are proving global warming and in a meeting with other Commonwealth countries in Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
commented that Kyoto was a mistake that should not be repeated. He also stated that the Accord "focuses on carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
, which is essential to life, rather than upon pollutants." Harper considered the objectives implemented by Canada to meet its goals were not realistic and later criticized further the accord which did not set any targets for the world's biggest polluters. He proposed a "Made in Canada" plan that would concentrate its efforts on reducing smog
Smog
Smog is a type of air pollution; the word "smog" is a portmanteau of smoke and fog. Modern smog is a type of air pollution derived from vehicular emission from internal combustion engines and industrial fumes that react in the atmosphere with sunlight to form secondary pollutants that also combine...
pollution from vehicles. In a CTV report in October, however, the Conservatives had mentioned that it would be an approach rather than a plan. While repeatedly mentioning that the goals will not be achieved before the timeline, John Baird
John Baird (Canadian politician)
John Russell Baird, PC, MP is a Canadian politician currently serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper....
mentioned on March 17, 2007 that the government had no plans to abandon the Kyoto Accord Recently, the Conservatives' position has been backed by five independent economists, including Toronto-Dominion Bank
Toronto-Dominion Bank
The Toronto-Dominion Bank , is the second-largest bank in Canada by market capitalization and based on assets. It is also the sixth largest bank in North America. Commonly known as TD and operating as TD Bank Group, the bank was created in 1955 through the merger of the Bank of Toronto and the...
chief economist Don Drummond. Drummond, who has been consulted by political parties of all stripes, said that the "economic cost [of implementing Kyoto] would be at least as deep as the recession in the early 1980s", agreeing with the results of a study compiled by the environment department.
Opposition members led by Liberal MP Pablo Rodriguez tabled bill C-288 that would force the government to respect the measures of the Kyoto Accord and forced it to present its measures within 60 days. The bill passed third reading on February 14, 2007, 161-113. The Conservatives had appealed the Speaker of the House, Peter Milliken
Peter Milliken
Peter Andrew Stewart Milliken, UE is a Canadian lawyer and politician. He was a member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1988 until his retirement in 2011 and served as Speaker of the House for 10 years beginning in 2001. Milliken represented the Ontario riding of Kingston and the Islands as a...
to make the bill invalid citing it was forcing them to spend money against its will, which was denied. While criticizing the Opposition bill as an empty law without any action plans and not giving authority to spend, Harper announced that he would respect the law, despite earlier threats by the government not to respect it. Toronto-Dominion Bank
Toronto-Dominion Bank
The Toronto-Dominion Bank , is the second-largest bank in Canada by market capitalization and based on assets. It is also the sixth largest bank in North America. Commonly known as TD and operating as TD Bank Group, the bank was created in 1955 through the merger of the Bank of Toronto and the...
chief economist Don Drummond
Don Drummond
Don Drummond was a Jamaican ska trombonist and composer. He was one of the original members of The Skatalites, and composed many of their tunes....
dismissed bill C-288 as unworkable. On April 19, 2007, Baird told the Canadian Senate
Canadian Senate
The Senate of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the House of Commons, and the monarch . The Senate consists of 105 members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister...
environmental committee that respecting the Kyoto Accord would have a negative impact on the economic citing that Canada would return to a recession similar to the early 1980s
Early 1980s recession
The early 1980s recession describes the severe global economic recession affecting much of the developed world in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The United States and Japan exited recession relatively early, but high unemployment would continue to affect other OECD nations through at least 1985...
while gas
Gas
Gas is one of the three classical states of matter . Near absolute zero, a substance exists as a solid. As heat is added to this substance it melts into a liquid at its melting point , boils into a gas at its boiling point, and if heated high enough would enter a plasma state in which the electrons...
and natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
prices would skyrocket despite a United Nations report that said that the impact would be minimal.
In the 2007 Throne speech, the government officially abandoned the Kyoto objectives in favour of their policies and accords with Asian and Pacific countries in which Harper joined the US-led the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate on September 24, 2007, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, several among them being among the biggest polluters. The APP's plans goals are lower than the Kyoto Protocol and consists on the introduction of newer and cleaner technology including solar, coal and nuclear power.
Clean Air Act
On October 10, 2006 in VancouverVancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, Harper announced some measures such as tax credits to environmentally friendly measures, a repackaged air quality health index and a program to retrofit diesel school buses. Harper mentioned that these measures would "move industry from voluntary compliance to strict enforcement; replace the current ad hoc, patchwork system with clear, consistent, and comprehensive national standards, and institute a holistic approach that doesn't treat the related issues of pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions in isolation." Prior to the announcement, activist groups listed a series of recommendations including regulations on big industries and compliance with the Kyoto Protocol
Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change , aimed at fighting global warming...
.
Details of the Clean Air Act
Clean Air Act
A Clean Air Act is one of a number of pieces of legislation relating to the reduction of airborne contaminants, smog and air pollution in general. The use by governments to enforce clean air standards has contributed to an improvement in human health and longer life spans...
were revealed on October 19, 2006 by Harper along with Environment Minister Rona Ambrose
Rona Ambrose
Ronalee "Rona" Ambrose, PC, MP is the Minister of Public Works and Government Services for Canada, Vice-Chair of the Treasury Board Cabinet committee, Minister of State for Status of Women Canada and Minister of Western Economic Diversification.In the previous Parliament, she was Canada's Minister...
and Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon
Lawrence Cannon
Lawrence Cannon, PC is a Canadian politician from Quebec and Prime Minister Stephen Harper's former Quebec lieutenant. On October 30, 2008 he was sworn in as Minister of Foreign Affairs...
. Its main plan was to reduce greenhouse emissions at about 45-65% of the 2003 levels. The goal was set for the year 2050 while a decrease of greenhouse emissions would be noticed in 2020. There were also regulations set for vehicle fuel consumption for 2011, while new measures would be set for industries starting in 2010. Finally, oil companies will have to reduce gas emissions for each barrel produced. However, companies can increase their production until 2020. The plan was heavily criticized by opposition parties and several environmental groups, with New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
leader Jack Layton
Jack Layton
John Gilbert "Jack" Layton, PC was a Canadian social democratic politician and the Leader of the Official Opposition. He was the leader of the New Democratic Party from 2003 to 2011, and previously sat on Toronto City Council, serving at times during that period as acting mayor and deputy mayor of...
stating that the act does little to prevent climate change. Since the opposition threatened to turn this into an election issue, the Conservative Party agreed to rework the act.
The Conservatives made a detailed and revised plan on April 25, 2007, after leaks of a speech which was supposed to be made by John Baird
John Baird (Canadian politician)
John Russell Baird, PC, MP is a Canadian politician currently serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper....
on April 26 were discovered after some Liberal MPs received a fax of the speech. The new plan seeks to stop the increase of greenhouse gas emissions before 2012 and reduce the amount as much as 20% by 2020. Targets would be imposed to industries before 2015, while home appliances would need to be more energy efficient. There were also rewards for companies that reduced the amount of emissions since 2006. On the next day, Baird announced additional measures including one that would force industries to reduce greenhouse emissions by 18 percent by 2010 while auto industries would have a mandatory fuel-efficient standard by 2011. Later in 2007, Baird revealed other plans and deadlines that industries must met. The plan mentioned that over 700 big-polluter companies, including oil and gas, pulp and paper, electricity and iron and steel companies, will have to reduce green-house emissions by six percent from 2008 to 2010 and will have to report data on their emissions on every May 31.
However, critics including the World Wildlife Fund said that the greenhouse emissions in 2020 will still be higher than the 1990 levels, while Canada will not meet Kyoto targets before 2025, 13 years after its objectives. High-profile figures including David Suzuki
David Suzuki
David Suzuki, CC, OBC is a Canadian academic, science broadcaster and environmental activist. Suzuki earned a Ph.D in zoology from the University of Chicago in 1961, and was a professor in the genetics department of the University of British Columbia from 1963 until his retirement in 2001...
and Former US Vice-President Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
also criticized the plan as been insufficient.
Clean energy technology funding
On December 20, 2006, Ambrose and Agriculture Minister Chuck StrahlChuck Strahl
Charles Strahl, PC, MP was a politician in British Columbia, Canada. He was a Member of Parliament in the governing Conservative Party of Canada.-Before politics:...
announced $345 million of funding and other measures to promote the use of biodiesel
Biodiesel
Biodiesel refers to a vegetable oil- or animal fat-based diesel fuel consisting of long-chain alkyl esters. Biodiesel is typically made by chemically reacting lipids with an alcohol....
and ethanol
Ethanol
Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a psychoactive drug and one of the oldest recreational drugs. Best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, it is also used in thermometers, as a...
in policies related to the Clean Air Act. Among that, diesel fuel, regular fuel and heating oil
Heating oil
Heating oil, or oil heat, is a low viscosity, flammable liquid petroleum product used as a fuel for furnaces or boilers in buildings. Home heating oil is often abbreviated as HHO...
would require a small amount of cleaner energy by 2012. Measures also affected farmers in diversifying their agriculture and farming equipment.
On January 17, 2006, Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn
Gary Lunn
Gary Vincent Lunn, PC, MP is the former Canadian Member of Parliament for the British Columbia riding of Saanich—Gulf Islands. He served in the House of Commons from 1997 to 2011, first as a member of the Reform Party of Canada and subsequently as a member of the Canadian Alliance and the...
and new Environment Minister John Baird
John Baird (Canadian politician)
John Russell Baird, PC, MP is a Canadian politician currently serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper....
announced an additional $230 million for the development of clean energy technology
Two days later, Harper, Baird and Dunn presented a new program initiative called ecoEnergy Renewable Initiative which would concentrate on the increase of cleaner energy sources such as wind
Wind
Wind is the flow of gases on a large scale. On Earth, wind consists of the bulk movement of air. In outer space, solar wind is the movement of gases or charged particles from the sun through space, while planetary wind is the outgassing of light chemical elements from a planet's atmosphere into space...
, biomass
Biomass
Biomass, as a renewable energy source, is biological material from living, or recently living organisms. As an energy source, biomass can either be used directly, or converted into other energy products such as biofuel....
, small hydro
Small hydro
Small hydro is the development of hydroelectric power on a scale serving a small community or industrial plant. The definition of a small hydro project varies but a generating capacity of up to 10 megawatts is generally accepted as the upper limit of what can be termed small hydro. This may be...
and ocean
Ocean
An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...
energies. The cost of the program was about $1.5 billion. Some money was also planned for incentives for companies and industries that would used more cleaner energy sources.
On January 21, 2007, the Government announced another related funding announcement by pledging $300 million by helping homeowners across the country by become more energy-efficient including cash reward for those implementing measures to improve the efficiency. Critics of the measures such as Friends of Earth Canada and Liberal environment critic David McGuinty
David McGuinty
David Joseph McGuinty, MP is a Canadian lawyer politician from Ontario, Canada. He is the Member of Parliament for the riding of Ottawa South and sits in the Canadian House of Commons as the Liberal Party of Canada's Critic for Natural Resources...
, mentioned though that the Conservatives had used some of the programs and strategies planned by opposition parties including a remake of the EnerGuide Program launched by the Liberals.
Response to climate change report
Harper later proposed a discussion with NDP leader Jack LaytonJack Layton
John Gilbert "Jack" Layton, PC was a Canadian social democratic politician and the Leader of the Official Opposition. He was the leader of the New Democratic Party from 2003 to 2011, and previously sat on Toronto City Council, serving at times during that period as acting mayor and deputy mayor of...
in the light of growing concerns made by the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
government of Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
as well as a report
Stern Review
The Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change is a 700-page report released for the British government on 30 October 2006 by economist Nicholas Stern, chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and also chair of the Centre...
by Sir Nicholas Stern
Nicholas Stern
Nicholas Herbert Stern, Baron Stern of Brentford, Kt, FBA is a British economist and academic. He is IG Patel Professor of Economics and Government, Chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics , and 2010 Professor of Collège de...
, a former chief economist World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
who predicted a 20% drop of the global economy. Layton tabled a private member's bill which contained plans to respect Kyoto's targets. After their meeting, they agreed on a formal review of the Clean Air Act
Clean Air Act
A Clean Air Act is one of a number of pieces of legislation relating to the reduction of airborne contaminants, smog and air pollution in general. The use by governments to enforce clean air standards has contributed to an improvement in human health and longer life spans...
.
Meetings on global warming
Harper cancelled a planned meeting on environment with European UnionEuropean Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
members in Helsinki, Finland, a meeting in which he was expecting to condemn the Kyoto Accord. Critics cited that Harper cancelled its meeting to avoid the criticism from EU officials. Harper's director of communications cited that his legislation agenda forced him to withdraw from the meeting. Furthermore, Ambrose attended a two-week November 2006 UN summit meeting in Nairobi, Kenya on the issue of the Kyoto Accord and it targets. Opposition members have claimed that her presence was an embarrassment for Canada.
In late 2007, Harper attended the Commonwealth Summit Meeting in Uganda. While Harper qualified the Kyoto as a mistake, he rejected claims that Canada was a holdout on climate change action. A deal was reached between the 53 members of the organization but blocked a proposal to exclude developing countries to comply to emission reductions. Harper will also attend the global conference on climate changes in Bali, Indonesia in December 2007. He commented that the deal in Uganda will set the stage for the meeting in Indonesia. John Baird who was also at the meeting mentioned that any agreements would have to include reduction targets in which the biggest polluters such as the United States, China and India must comply. A last-ditch agreement, after difficult discussions, was made late in the Summit which consisted of a two-year plan which would lead to a new treaty replacing the Kyoto Protocol as well as additional negotiations until 2009 that would force countries to set basic parameters of greenhouse reduction goals. Baird, while citing that the last-minute talks where a positive step for a future agreement but was disappointing about some off the agreement was watered down and that "the deal was almost completely stripped of any reference to numbers and targets that could have been the starting point for the discussion". Climate changes was also a topic at the G8 meeting in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in July 2008 where the organization had agreed to fix an objective on reducing greenhouse emissions by 50 cent by 2050 although it was not clear whether the goal was based on either 1990 or current (2008) levels.
In late November 2009 Stephen Harper decided that he would attend the climate change conference in Copenhagen, where a new agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol will be negotiated. Minister of the Environment Jim Prentice will be attending along with leaders of some opposition parties. Harper has claimed that Canada will, despite heavy criticism, not commit to any further emissions reductions and will stick to the current plan of 20% below 2006 levels by 2020, however Harper also said that the government would be willing to make minor changes to the plan. Where the changes would be made is currently unknown.
Critics
At the Nairobi summit, the Climate Action NetworkClimate Action Network
Climate Action Network is an umbrella group of environmental non-governmental organisations active on the issue of climate change...
had given a "fossil of the day" award to the country along with Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
for contributing less to the battle of climate change. The country was also ranked 51st out of 56 countries of those who were part of a climate treaty in 1992 or contributed a least 1% of greenhouse emissions according to Germanwatch, a Bonn, Germany development group which ranked countries based on their contribution of fighting greenhouse emissions. The deputy leader of the Green Party
Green Party of Canada
The Green Party of Canada is a Canadian federal political party founded in 1983 with 10,000–12,000 registered members as of October 2008. The Greens advance a broad multi-issue political platform that reflects its core values of ecological wisdom, social justice, grassroots democracy and...
David Chernushenko had included Canada in an "axis of environmental evil" along with the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Due to the mounted controversy surrounding the Clean Air Act, there were reports according to the Canadian Press that Ambrose would be relieved of her duties as Environment Minister and replaced by Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice
Jim Prentice
James "Jim" Prentice, PC, QC is a Canadian lawyer, and politician. In the 2004 federal election he was elected to the Canadian House of Commons as a candidate of the Conservative Party of Canada...
in a future cabinet shuffle. However, on January 4, 2007, Ambrose was replaced by the President of the Treasury Board John Baird
John Baird (Canadian politician)
John Russell Baird, PC, MP is a Canadian politician currently serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper....
Kumi Naidoo, Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
's international executive director, has said, "I don’t think Prime Minister Stephen Harper has provided leadership on the climate question at all. If anything, he has held it back."
In 2011, Canada's commissioner of the environment and sustainable development, Scott Vaughan, stated that the government was not only failing to meet Kyoto standards, but also those of other agreements it had signed. He also criticized the Harper government of dramatically lowering its greenhouse gas emission targets since 2007, which have dropped by 90% (from 282 million tonnes to 28 million tonnes).
Funding for provinces
The previous government pledged funding to several provinces including Ontario and Quebec. However, the Conservatives cited that with the new Clean Air Act, the Liberal agreements have been annulled. Ontario lost $538 million and Quebec $328 million. Quebec's Environment Minister Claude BéchardClaude Béchard
Claude Béchard was a politician in Quebec, Canada. He served as Quebec Liberal Party Member of the National Assembly for the riding of Kamouraska-Témiscouata in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region; as Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food as well as the Minister for Canadian Intergovermental...
vowed to influenced the Tory government and forced them to send the $328 million funding for the province. However, the government announced $1.5 billion for supporting provincial projects including the $328 million Quebec requested.
Other measures
In the 2006 budget, the government introduced a 15.25% tax-credit on monthly passes for transit users. Harper also announced a $300 million grant to the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority which will be used in part for preparations for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.The government also secured $200 million of funding for Ottawa's O-Train expansion project after Treasury Board President John Baird
John Baird (Canadian politician)
John Russell Baird, PC, MP is a Canadian politician currently serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper....
reviewed the project to make sure there were no cost overruns. The money was secured after Ottawa's new council voted on the project. However, in November, Nepean-Carleton MP Pierre Poilievre
Pierre Poilievre
Pierre Poilievre, MP is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He is currently a member of the Canadian House of Commons representing the suburban Ottawa riding of Nepean-Carleton. First elected in 2004, Poilievre was re-elected in 2006 and 2008. Poilievre received the second highest vote total of any...
announced that, despite opposition from most of Ottawa City Council
Ottawa City Council
The Ottawa City Council is the governing body of the City of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is composed of 23 city councillors and the mayor. The mayor is elected at large, while each of the councillors represent wards throughout the city. Council members are elected to four year terms with the...
, $35 million of the transit funding was to be diverted for a new Rideau River
Rideau River
thumb|Rapids on the Rideau River opposite [[Carleton University]].The Rideau River is a Southern Ontario river which flows north from Upper Rideau Lake and empties into the Ottawa River at Rideau Falls in Ottawa, Ontario. Its length is 146 km...
bridge crossings between the two Ottawa growing suburban communities, Barrhaven
Barrhaven, Ontario
Barrhaven is a rapidly growing suburban neighbourhood in the southwest of the urban area of the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, about southwest of downtown Ottawa. Prior to amalgamation with Ottawa in 2001, Barrhaven was part of the City of Nepean. Its population as of the Canada 2006 Census was...
and Riverside South. Poilievre had stated that if the city of Ottawa would present a transit plan, a request to the government for new money for public transit projects will be granted. Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty
Dalton McGuinty
Dalton James Patrick McGuinty, Jr., MPP is a Canadian lawyer, politician and, since October 23, 2003, the 24th and current Premier of the Canadian province of Ontario....
stated that no provincial money will be given to the bridge project if no rapid transit corridor is included.
On March 1, 2007, while launching the International Polar Year
International Polar Year
The International Polar Year is a collaborative, international effort researching the polar regions. Karl Weyprecht, an Austro-Hungarian naval officer, motivated the endeavor, but died before it first occurred in 1882-1883. Fifty years later a second IPY occurred...
that a worldwide program that will focus on intense researches on the Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
regions, including climate change effects, the government announced a $150 million/4 year funding for over 40 projects related to the IPY program.
On March 6, 2007, the government announced over $1.5 billion in funding in Ontario for improving the city of Toronto's transit system
Toronto Transit Commission
-Island Ferry:The ferry service to the Toronto Islands was operated by the TTC from 1927 until 1962, when it was transferred to the Metro Parks and Culture department. Since 1998, the ferry service is run by Toronto Parks and Recreation.-Gray Coach:...
including the extension of a subway
Toronto subway and RT
The Toronto subway and RT is a rapid transit system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, consisting of both underground and elevated railway lines, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission . It was Canada's first completed subway system, with the first line being built under Yonge Street, which opened in...
line to Vaughan
Vaughan, Ontario
Vaughan is a city in York Region north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Vaughan is the fastest growing municipality in Canada achieving a population growth rate of 80.2% between 1996–2006, according to Statistics Canada having nearly doubled in population since 1991. Vaughan is located in Southern...
. $586 million of the funding went for a new power grid from Ontario to Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
that would provide cleaner hydro energy
Hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...
.
As part of the 2007 budget on March 19, 2007, Flaherty announced a rebate of up to $2,000 for people who purchase fuel-efficient vehicles. He also announced a new levy to penalize consumers who purchase vehicles with a high-fuel consumption rate: $1,000 for every litre consumed per 100 kilometres would be imposed (up to a total of $4,000) if the vehicle consumes over 13 litres of fuel per 100 kilometres in the city. However, in the 2008 budget, the clean-car rebate will be scrapped in 2009.
As part of the 2008 budget on February 26, 2008, $500 million was announced for public transit, $250 million for research in developing more fuel-efficient vehicles and $300 million for the development a more advanced nuclear reactor and to improve safety at the Chalk River, Ontario
Chalk River, Ontario
Chalk River is a Canadian rural community part of the Laurentian Hills municipality in Renfrew County, Ontario. It is located in the Upper Ottawa Valley along Highway 17 , 10 km inland from the Ottawa River, approximately 21 km northwest of Petawawa, and 182 km northwest of Ottawa...
Nuclear facility which shut down during the fall of 2007 after there were safety concerns.
In the 2009 Federal Budget the government introduced billions of dollars in spending on the environment and green initiatives including,
$1 billion over five years for clean energy research development and demonstration projects, including capture and storage;
A new $1 billion Green Infrastructure Fund to support projects like public transit, sustainable energy and waste management; $1.3 billion over two years to support renovations and energy retrofits that will make Canada’s social housing stock more energy efficient, to be split on a 50/50 cost-shared basis with the provinces, $300 million over two years to go to the ecoENERGY Retrofit program to support an additional 200,000 energy-saving home retrofits; $250 million over two years to maintain federal laboratories; $85 million over two years for key Arctic research stations, and $2 million over two years for a feasibility study for a world-class Arctic research station; $80.5 million over the next two years to manage and assess federal contaminated sites, which will facilitate remediation work totalling an estimated $165 million over the next two years and contribute to an improved environment as well as employment opportunities; $75 million for national parks; and $10 million in 2009-2010 to improve the government’s annual reporting on key environmental indicators such as clean air, clean water and greenhouse gas emissions.