The Conservative government is now placed in a difficult position. The government really does not want to pass this bill. Baird has even made the ridiculous statement that the new bill is weaker than the original Clean Air Act. Of course he gave no evidence of this and the statement flies in the face of the evidence and statements by the main environmental groups who support the amended bill. My prediction would be that the Conservaitives will let the bill die on the order paper and make their own announcements about their brave new world of environmental initiatives. I doubt the Conservatives want to fight an election after having been defeated for not supporting this bill but we shall see!
Pass overhauled clean air bill, Harper urged
Last Updated: Friday, March 30, 2007 | 4:37 PM ET
CBC News
Environmental groups urged the Harper government on Friday to pass a bill rewritten by a special Commons committee because they say it takes real action on greenhouse gas emissions.
The Climate Action Network, Pembina Institute and Sierra Club of Canada said the bill, now called the clean air and climate change act, is much stronger now than it was when it was first tabled in the House of Commons in October.
"We expect that the government will respect the bill, put it before Parliament and respect the will of the people," John Bennett, executive director of the Climate Action Network, said in Ottawa. "This is a moment of truth for government."
Opposition parties revamped the bill through more than 100 amendments. Originally called Canada's clean air act, it was sent to the special legislative committee after it passed first reading.
"This is a government bill. This is their bill. They agreed to have it brought to a committee. Two-thirds of Canadians voted for MPs who made these amendments," he said.
The bill requires the government to make regulations to set hard targets for industry to cut greenhouse gas emissions to six per cent below 1990 levels, starting in January 2008.
Levy on carbon emissions
It includes a $20 levy for every tonne of carbon emissions a company produces above its target. And it requires that vehicle fuel consumption regulations match international best practices.
Clare Demerse, a climate change policy analyst at the Pembina Institute, said there is no question that the bill is stronger because it requires the government to regulate heavy industry. The bill provides a standard by which to measure any new targets announced by the Harper government, she said.
Environment Minister John Baird has said the government plans a few weeks to bring in new targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He declined to say in question period on Friday whether he will bring the revamped bill before Parliament for a vote.
Demerse said she is surprised that Baird said the revamped bill is weaker than it was in its original form.
"I want to know why the minister think the bill is weaker. I think the bill is acceptable. It's not perfect, but there are targets for large emitters put right in the bill. That's what we supported," she said.
"If they are going to go ahead and make their announcement, we now have a standard. The standards are in the bill," she said.
Industrial output
Stephen Hazell, executive director of the Sierra Club of Canada, said the bill is a much improved version of the old bill because its targets are not based on the level of industrial output.
If, for example, previous Canadian governments had relied on what are known as intensity-based targets to deal with the problem of acid rain, Canada would still have the problem of acidic lakes, he said.
"The committee has squeezed the hot air out of the clean air act and turned it into the real deal. It's a real bill," he said.
As of Friday, the bill heads back to Parliament and into the hands of Baird.
It is up to Baird to act on the amended proposal, and decide whether he will bring it back to the House for a vote or leave it languishing on the order paper.
Election call possible
The government can accept the changes in the bill as proposed by the committee or use them to trigger an election call.
Under the first reading version of the previous bill, there was no mention of the Kyoto Protocol and there were no hard caps on greenhouse gas emissions until 2020 or 2025, but the government said it would seek to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 45 to 65 per cent by 2050.
Also, its emissions regulations on large polluters did not take effect until 2010.
"We're going to take some time to look at the entirety of the changes they've made. I can tell you I'm not happy," Baird said Thursday. "I think they've weakened the bill and not strengthened it."
But NDP MP Nathan Cullen said all parties made compromises and hailed the new proposal as an act that could become one of the most significant pieces of environmental legislation in decades.
"Just accept defeat on the things that you've lost, and accept the fact that there are things you've voted for, and that's how the Parliament works when you're in a minority position," Cullen said.
Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion said the government agreed to send the bill to the committee and now it must act on it.
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Showing posts with label Clean Air act. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Clean Air act. Show all posts
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Opposition Cleans up Clean Air Act
If this bill goes to the legislature with amendments that bind the Conservatives to Kyoto targets or has other requirements they cannot accept and the Conservatives declare it a confidence motion than there could be an election. However I expect that the Conservatives will choose some other issue upon which to fall since even they do not think that they are regarded as strongest on the environment!
Clean Air Act puts Tories in hot spot as MPs propose changes
Report says speculation is growing that bill could trigger election
A special House of Commons committee has until the end of March to rewrite the Clean Air Act and opposition MPs say the Conservatives are slowing down the process.
According to a news report by CP, the bill could lead to an election call if Prime Minister Stephen Harper decides the bill is a matter of confidence and his minority government loses a vote on opposition amendments.
All three opposition parties have tabled amendments that call on the government to honour its commitments made under the Kyoto Protocol. Harper has said that the Kyoto targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are not realistic.
The amendments call on the government to place hard caps on industrial emissions and develop a long-term plan that sets out targets for every five years starting in 2015.
On Tuesday, the Conservatives cancelled a committee meeting scheduled for this week on the bill. Another meeting is scheduled for Thursday morning.
Environment Minister John Baird said the meeting was cancelled simply because the Conservatives have been busy preparing the federal budget, which was unveiled on Monday, and negotiating ecoTrust announcements with the provinces.
"Obviously, it's been a busy time," Baird said Tuesday. "One of the things we hadn't anticipated is that a lot of work has had to go on environmentally that we hadn't anticipated."
But NDP MP Nathan Cullen, a committee member, said the Conservatives cancelled the meeting because they did not want to be in a position where they were voting against opposition amendments that would take real steps to protect the environment from industrial pollution.
"They didn't want the Canadian public seeing them voting against it," he said.
'Dead on arrival'
Liberal MP David McGuinty, another committee member, said the government has to accept the fact that the bill is being taken apart and put back together again in a completely different form than its original version.
"It was dead on arrival," he said. "Now we're going to put Humpty Dumpty together in a form that's different from what it looked like from the beginning."
The opposition parties hold the majority of votes on the committee, which means the amendments will likely be included in the bill when it returns to the House of Commons.
Under the first reading version of the bill, there was no mention of Kyoto and there were no hard caps on greenhouse gas emissions until 2020 or 2025, but the government would seek to cut emissions by 45 to 65 per cent by 2050.
The bill did not set short-term targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions and its emissions regulations on large polluters would not take effect until 2010.
Under Kyoto, the previous Liberal government pledged that Canada would reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to six per cent below 1990 levels by the five-year commitment period of 2008 to 2012.
The committee, officially known as the legislative committee on Bill C-30, must report back to the House of Commons by March 30.
With files from the Canadian Press
Clean Air Act puts Tories in hot spot as MPs propose changes
Report says speculation is growing that bill could trigger election
A special House of Commons committee has until the end of March to rewrite the Clean Air Act and opposition MPs say the Conservatives are slowing down the process.
According to a news report by CP, the bill could lead to an election call if Prime Minister Stephen Harper decides the bill is a matter of confidence and his minority government loses a vote on opposition amendments.
All three opposition parties have tabled amendments that call on the government to honour its commitments made under the Kyoto Protocol. Harper has said that the Kyoto targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are not realistic.
The amendments call on the government to place hard caps on industrial emissions and develop a long-term plan that sets out targets for every five years starting in 2015.
On Tuesday, the Conservatives cancelled a committee meeting scheduled for this week on the bill. Another meeting is scheduled for Thursday morning.
Environment Minister John Baird said the meeting was cancelled simply because the Conservatives have been busy preparing the federal budget, which was unveiled on Monday, and negotiating ecoTrust announcements with the provinces.
"Obviously, it's been a busy time," Baird said Tuesday. "One of the things we hadn't anticipated is that a lot of work has had to go on environmentally that we hadn't anticipated."
But NDP MP Nathan Cullen, a committee member, said the Conservatives cancelled the meeting because they did not want to be in a position where they were voting against opposition amendments that would take real steps to protect the environment from industrial pollution.
"They didn't want the Canadian public seeing them voting against it," he said.
'Dead on arrival'
Liberal MP David McGuinty, another committee member, said the government has to accept the fact that the bill is being taken apart and put back together again in a completely different form than its original version.
"It was dead on arrival," he said. "Now we're going to put Humpty Dumpty together in a form that's different from what it looked like from the beginning."
The opposition parties hold the majority of votes on the committee, which means the amendments will likely be included in the bill when it returns to the House of Commons.
Under the first reading version of the bill, there was no mention of Kyoto and there were no hard caps on greenhouse gas emissions until 2020 or 2025, but the government would seek to cut emissions by 45 to 65 per cent by 2050.
The bill did not set short-term targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions and its emissions regulations on large polluters would not take effect until 2010.
Under Kyoto, the previous Liberal government pledged that Canada would reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to six per cent below 1990 levels by the five-year commitment period of 2008 to 2012.
The committee, officially known as the legislative committee on Bill C-30, must report back to the House of Commons by March 30.
With files from the Canadian Press
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Globe and Mail: Federal Budget 2007
The complete article is at the Globe and Mail. From what I have heard on the news the committee amending the Clean Air Act is having problems and a couple of meetings have been cancelled. It may be that the govt. will introduce the Act without reference to Kyoto and in such a form that the opposition will feel compelled to vote it down. This could be a trigger for an election since the budget will obviously pass.
FEDERAL BUDGET 2007: Analysis
The pros and cons of playing political chicken
BRIAN LAGHI
OTTAWA BUREAU CHIEF
Stephen Harper doesn't need encouragement to play political chicken with his opponents on the other side of the House of Commons. But that's exactly what he was given this week when his government's budget was so quickly accepted.
The big question of whether the spending document would pitch Canadians into a spring election was answered almost immediately Monday when Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe swallowed hard and voiced support for the plan.
But if the opposition thinks that this marks the end of Mr. Harper's aggressive challenges, senior federal Tories say they should think again, for the Prime Minister will only become bolder in throwing out dares that may eventually lead to a federal vote.
The guessing game of whether Mr. Harper wants to fight a spring election continued yesterday as hawks and doves within the party argued their cases. But whether or not there is a vote, senior Tories believe the Prime Minister is in the catbird seat because he believes the opposition sees itself as too weak to fight an election and can be forced to support government notions until it can stand it no more.
"My sense at this point is that he can keep pushing things until they say no, until they reach the breaking point," said a Conservative who asked not to be quoted by name. "From here on, he can continue to take bold measures on things that other parties don't agree on but they are too timid and too weak to fight an election on. So either way it's good. Either he gets things done that he wants to do, or he has an election on things he wants to have an election on."
Federal officials have been polling Canadians for their reaction to Monday's budget and whether support is strong enough for Mr. Harper to look for ways to push the opposition over the edge.
There are difficulties for the Tories in engineering their own downfall, but even federal Liberals concede that Mr. Harper can find a way to have the opposition pull the pin for him.
Mr. Harper can declare almost anything he wants to be a vote of confidence. That declaration could come should the Tory Party reintroduce a series of bills on crime that it knows the opposition loathes. Or when the Tories introduce new legislation on greenhouse gases that doesn't follow the Kyoto Protocol.
This can be tricky if Mr. Harper looks too opportunistic in bringing about his own defeat, but the Tories would probably gamble that it will be forgotten after a couple of days on the campaign trail.
FEDERAL BUDGET 2007: Analysis
The pros and cons of playing political chicken
BRIAN LAGHI
OTTAWA BUREAU CHIEF
Stephen Harper doesn't need encouragement to play political chicken with his opponents on the other side of the House of Commons. But that's exactly what he was given this week when his government's budget was so quickly accepted.
The big question of whether the spending document would pitch Canadians into a spring election was answered almost immediately Monday when Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe swallowed hard and voiced support for the plan.
But if the opposition thinks that this marks the end of Mr. Harper's aggressive challenges, senior federal Tories say they should think again, for the Prime Minister will only become bolder in throwing out dares that may eventually lead to a federal vote.
The guessing game of whether Mr. Harper wants to fight a spring election continued yesterday as hawks and doves within the party argued their cases. But whether or not there is a vote, senior Tories believe the Prime Minister is in the catbird seat because he believes the opposition sees itself as too weak to fight an election and can be forced to support government notions until it can stand it no more.
"My sense at this point is that he can keep pushing things until they say no, until they reach the breaking point," said a Conservative who asked not to be quoted by name. "From here on, he can continue to take bold measures on things that other parties don't agree on but they are too timid and too weak to fight an election on. So either way it's good. Either he gets things done that he wants to do, or he has an election on things he wants to have an election on."
Federal officials have been polling Canadians for their reaction to Monday's budget and whether support is strong enough for Mr. Harper to look for ways to push the opposition over the edge.
There are difficulties for the Tories in engineering their own downfall, but even federal Liberals concede that Mr. Harper can find a way to have the opposition pull the pin for him.
Mr. Harper can declare almost anything he wants to be a vote of confidence. That declaration could come should the Tory Party reintroduce a series of bills on crime that it knows the opposition loathes. Or when the Tories introduce new legislation on greenhouse gases that doesn't follow the Kyoto Protocol.
This can be tricky if Mr. Harper looks too opportunistic in bringing about his own defeat, but the Tories would probably gamble that it will be forgotten after a couple of days on the campaign trail.
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