Every now and again, Opposition parties get a day in Parliament all to themselves, a day when they can set the agenda and put anything they want on the order paper. Last week, the Liberals had one of those days and they put a motion on the floor about the environment that MPs will vote on today at about 6:30 pm Ottawa time.
|
In the wake of polls that say environmental issues are at the top of the public agenda, public interest and advocacy groups that specialize in environment issues are seeing an increased interest in their activities and are finding that their membership rolls are swelling:
Our phones are ringing off the hook,” said Ian Bruce, climate change specialist at the David Suzuki Foundation in Vancouver.
Bruce said his group is receiving many more calls and e-mails than ever before from citizens and reporters wanting to know about climate change issues.
“We are getting a lot of support and offers to help out with our work here,” said Bruce. “It's certainly uplifting. And it's something that has changed.”
Environmental groups say it's difficult to gauge the impact of climate change concern on fund-raising. But local activists say the number of people contributing time and money to green causes has jumped over the past year.
Sierra Legal Defence Fund executive director Robert Mitchell said his group's donor list jumped to 30,000 Canadians last year. “Whether this is because of climate change it's hard to say, but we have included our work on climate change in our fundraising appeal.”
Mitchell said the number of large donations is also on the rise. “We are seeing more $10,000 and $25,000 donations than ever before.”
Mitchell said fear of global warming prompted a large American foundation, the Hewlett Foundation, to give his group money for the first time. The Hewlett grant is being used to explore legal issues related to the tar sands projects in Alberta.
Greenpeace Canada executive-director Bruce Cox said his group expected to have a deficit in 2006 but now is looking forward to a surplus.
Cox said Greenpeace canvassers are finding that people are willing to spend more time with them on the doorstep.
In the wake of last week’s UN-backed report that greenhouse gas emissions were behind global warming and that governments of the world ought to do something about it, the CIBC’s Jeff Rubin is telling his clients to reduce their exposure to energy stocks.
“Governments are waging a war on carbon,” said Rubin, Chief Strategist and Chief Economist at CIBC World Markets. “The decline in crude consumption in the OECD last year seems further evidence of policy-mandated demand-destruction aimed at reducing oil consumption in an effort to abate GHG emissions.”
Mr. Rubin cites the mandating of greater ethanol content in gasoline and the raising of minimum fuel mileage standards to address public concerns about global warming as key policy initiatives that have resulted in a reduction in consumption. He expects the next step in Canada and the United States will be regulations of GHG emissions along the lines of what was recently introduced in California. This would see provinces and other states implement a carbon dioxide emissions cap while at the same time establishing an emissions trading system that allows larger polluters to buy emissions credits from other firms whose emissions are less than what is allowed under the cap.
The report states that the cap and trade system would most adversely impact utilities and oil sand producers. As a result of this and faltering demand growth for crude oil in OECD countries, CIBC World Markets is pruning back its overweight in energy stocks from 4.5 percentage points to 3 percentage points. However, the firm still expects that oil sands opportunities will continue to be aggressively pursued by global energy giants.
“We are realigning our equity portfolio toward a more balanced sectoral weighting in keeping with the recent breadth of market gains,” notes Mr. Rubin. “Investor disappointment at fading near-term prospects for rate cuts has been more than offset by growing confidence in the North American economy.”
Our good friends at the New Democratic Party of Canada write today to point out a couple of things about the idea that the Environment Commissioner ought to become independent of the Office of the Auditor General and report straight through to Parliament. Liberal Leader Stephane Dion has been saying that he would support the idea of an independent Environment Commissioner and, today in Question Period, Liberal whip Karen Redman was asking the government to support such an idea:
“Mr. Speaker, in 1997, the Liberal government created the position of environment commissioner to provide sound, independent advice to Parliament about protecting Canada's environment and working toward sustainable development, but after this past week, it appears that the environment commissioner is not as independent as Parliament had originally thought she would be. Will the Prime Minister support a motion to establish an independent environment commissioner as an officer of Parliament?” – Karen Redman, Hansard, 2 February 2007
But the New Democrats point out — in what’s becoming a refrain repeated in Ottawa nowadays with such frequency that it’s almost become a bit boring — that the Liberals had 13 years to get that done!
Our second task will be to appoint an Environmental Auditor General, reporting directly to Parliament, with powers of investigation similar to the powers of the Auditor General.” – 1993 Liberal Platform, p. 64
For the record, NDP Leader Jack Layton asked the Prime Minister yesterday to support an Environment Commissioner. Here’s that exchange:
Hon. Jack Layton (Toronto—Danforth, NDP):
Mr. Speaker, the dismissal of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development came as an unpleasant surprise. Ms. Gélinas provided a non-partisan voice here on matters of the environment. Her studies were always based on science and fact. And now she is gone.Will the Prime Minister support a proposal, an amendment to the legislation, proposed by the NDP to ensure that the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development will be a senior public servant who answers directly to the House and its members, and to no one else?
Right Hon. Stephen Harper (Prime Minister, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, the government regrets Ms. Gélinas' departure. At the same time, legislation exists and the legislation is clear: the position of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development is within the Office of the Auditor General, but both report directly to Parliament.We are certainly willing to study the NDP leader's proposals.
This morning, the United Nations-backed Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its latest pentennial assessment of the world’s climate. Today’s release was a slim 21–page summary of more than a 1,000 pages of scientific evidence that will be released over the course of the year. The summary is intended for policy makers.
Changes in the atmosphere, the oceans and glaciers and ice caps now show unequivocally that the world is warming due to human activities.. the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said in new report released today in Paris.
[UN] Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon pointed to the “scientific consensus regarding the quickening and threatening pace of human-induced climate change” and called for the global response “to move much more rapidly as well, and with more determination.”
And, here is Canada’s official reaction:
Environment Minister John Baird stated today that he and Canada's New Government accept the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report and called on Canadians to get ready for some tough decisions on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
“The IPCC has presented compelling scientific proof that the world's climate has changed because of human action and industrial growth,” said Minister Baird. “This represents an important contribution to the body of scientific research on the topic. The evidence is in, and it is clear the time is now for concrete and realistic actions to deal with climate change and air pollution to improve the health of Canadians.”
Environment Canada also has its own IPCC page.
Outside the House of Commons this afternoon, Denis Coderre, the Liberal defence critic, said that, if he were defence minister, he’d cancel the $3.4–billion deal the Conservatives have struck with Boeing Co. to buy four C-17 Globemasters. Coderre said the system of leasing transport capacity for the infrequent long-haul flights of military gear was working just fine and Canada should be spending that money in other areas. Details, as they say, at 11 …
As I just reported on CTV Newsnet, Boeing Co. and the Canadian government have finally come to terms on the deal that will see Canada get four C-17 Globemasters (like the one landing,on the left).
Good old horse-trading about the industrial regional benefits had been the stick in the mud but, with a little help from the Prime Minister, the cabinet lobbying has ended and so, tomorrow, deal details will be trotted out.
First plane could be delivered as early as this summer. They’ll all end up being stationed out of CFB Trenton, Ontario.