Canada's Only Climate Legislation Killed in the Senate

Canada's only federal climate change legislation, the Climate Change Accountability Act, was defeated in the Senate 43 to 32 last night.

After being stalled for months, there was a surprise vote on Bill C-311 before any debate or consideration could be held in the Senate. This unprecedented action means that a Bill passed by a majority of elected MPs, representing two-thirds of Canadians, is dead.

What now?

Canada will be heading to the UN climate change negotiations in Cancun this December without a single law on the books or Bill in Parliament tackling greenhouse gas pollution. We have been assured that new climate legislation will be brought forward, but a delay of even a year or two could be devastating for species and wildlife habitats in Canada.

Nature Canada supporters have consistently raised their voices in support of strong, swift action from the government to address climate change. Our call has been heard - climate legislation has been passed in the House of Commons twice in the past two years. And although those Bills have failed to become law, any federal party opposing action on climate change must resort to parliamentary tricks to do so.

Looking Deeper Into Fish Lake

  

Grizzly bears are one of the
species identified by the
Prosperity Review Panel
that would be adversely affected
by development at Fish Lake.



The government of Canada made a good decision earlier this week when it turned down a proposal for an excessively damaging mine at Fish Lake, British Columbia. Nature Canada congratulated Environment minister Jim Prentice for respecting the conclusions of the federal environmental assessment of the project, and for respecting the will of First Nations about land use in their territory. Looking deeper into the context of that decision reveals some important insights and implications.

Environmental assessment works
While the process of environmental assessment may seem mysterious from a distance, Nature Canada has been up close and personal with it many times over the years and we are convinced it works. Environmental assessment allows independent panels to consider expert testimony, reach conclusions about the likely environmental impacts of a proposed project, and identify mitigation measures that could limit the damage. The resulting recommendation to the government (and it is only a recommendation) can range from approval of the project, to approval on the condition that certain mitigation measures be required, to rejection of the project as proposed.

Politics happens
The government must then decide whether or not to accept the recommendations about the studied project, and this is where the hard facts of environmental assessment meet the vagaries of politics. The government can follow the recommendations completely, partially, or not at all. But thanks to the public nature of the assessment process, we the citizens know whether or not our government is approving projects that destroy our environment. This is where the vagaries of politics meet accountability to the voters. In the case of Fish Lake, Minister Prentice deserves credit for doing the right thing for Canada, despite pressure from within his own caucus to do otherwise.

More to come
Nature Canada is very engaged in two other environmental assessments that are awaiting a response from the federal government: proposed gas drilling in the Suffield National Wildlife Area, and the proposed Mackenzie gas project.

In the case of the Suffield NWA, the environmental assessment report concludes that the proposal to drill 1,275 gas wells would interfere with the purpose of the National Wildlife Area. It also recommends that the government complete overdue work to identify the critical habitat of species at risk, and take other conservation action even if the project does not proceed. We are hopeful that Minister Prentice will accept all of this panel's recommendations too, reject the gas drilling project, and take other actions to better protect the national wildlife area.

In the case of the Mackenzie gas project, the federal government has been accused of attempting to secretly make the panel rewrite some of its recommendations. This suggests a lack of appreciation for a key feature upon which citizens depend: the independence of environmental assessment panels. We congratulate the panel for standing up for the their independence in the interest of Canada. We hope Minister Prentice will show leadership and convince his cabinet colleagues to accept the panel's report. You can help us encourage the government to stop the Mackenzie Gas Project and to instead establish protected areas in the Mackenzie Region that will be safe from development.

Changing the rules
Parliament will soon be undertaking a review of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. There is cause for concern, since the government already used the budget bill to weaken the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act earlier this year. You can be certain that Nature Canada will be working to ensure the review results in a stronger act, not a weaker one.

Back to the lake(s)
The decision about Fish Lake is a good news story, and we hope it does not go down in history as a rare exception. A loophole in the law that protects fish habitat, the Fisheries Act, allows the government to exclude some lakes from the protections of the act and let mining companies use lakes as dumps for toxic mining waste. A handful of lakes has been targeted so far, including Fish Lake in BC and Sandy Pond in Newfoundland and Labrador. We are concerned that this loophole threatens pristine lakes across Canada. Now that Fish Lake has been spared, it's time to take action on the others.

Climate Change Bill Continues to Collect Dust

As reported by 350.org, on Sunday, 10/10/10, citizens in 188 countries engaged in more than 7,000 organized “work parties” to cut carbon and asked their politicians a simple question, "We're getting to work, what about you?"

Well on Friday September 8, Stephen Harper and his Conservative government answered them by instructing his appointed senators to delay the country’s only federal climate bill and ordering them not to speak on the subject, even though senators had five solid months to review the legislation, and to prevent the legislation from moving forward.

The legislation in question is Bill C-311, the Climate Change Accountability Act, which was passed in the House of Commons last May by elected MPs and subsequently stalled in the Senate during the summer months. Harper’s instructions came after the prescribed five months to consider the bill. Richard Neufeld, an oil and gas sector veteran is responsible for leading the debate, however the senator has refused to acknowledged the bill, and according to Senate rules, only government can conclude debate on a bill or schedule votes.

This scenario is all too familiar, as a similar bill touching on clean energy was blocked in the US last July by the Senate and to this day there has been no vote and no change.

Support Bill C-311 by writing to your local MP and letting them know that you feel strongly about this issue. You can also join our campaign to stop the tar sands, Canada's largest contributor to climate change.

Fall Preview: What Should Parliament Be Doing for the Environment?

Parliament resumed this week, and there are several environmental policies or legislations that need action now. Nature Canada will be asking our elected representatives to:

• Complete the mandatory Species at Risk Act 5-year review.

The long-awaited 5-year review of Canada's Species at Risk Act (SARA) began in 2009. The House of Commons Environment Committee has heard testimony from many witnesses and received numerous submissions, including from Nature Canada, and now needs to complete its report. As we wait for recommendations to make this crucial environmental legislation stronger, the list of at-risk species in Canada has reached 602.

Parliament must act now to strengthen SARA and make the law work to protect our endangered species.

• Begin a comprehensive review of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act and reinstate crucial measures that were cut this spring in Bill C-9, the Budget Implementation Act.

The Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA) establishes the national environmental assessment process used to evaluate the negative environmental impacts of new projects like mines, pipelines and tar sands projects and seeks out ways to reduce or eliminate those negative impacts.

During the budget process this spring, changes were made to CEAA that weaken the Act, side-stepping a mandatory review process that was due to start in June.

There should be a full consultation and discussion on CEAA, allowing for open and transparent debate of any further amendments. We are calling on all MPs to work to reinstate the legislation that was removed from the Act and strengthen it to ensure that our environment is protected.

• Begin a comprehensive review of regulation of unconventional oil and gas production promised in the spring.

In the wake of the Gulf oil spill, the federal government voted on June 2 to immediately conduct an open public review of relevant federal laws, regulations and policies regarding the development of all unconventional sources of oil and gas. Since this decision, little action has been taken, leaving Canada's wildlife and habitats in danger from oil and gas development.

The federal government must immediately undertake this comprehensive review to assure Canadians that our oil and gas development regulations meet the highest standards.

Additionally, Bill C-311 - the only piece of climate change legislation currently under consideration in Canada - is stalled in the Senate. The Bill has been adjourned in the name of Conservative Senator Richard Neufeld and cannot move forward until he speaks to it.

This Bill has been passed in the House of Commons not once, but twice. It was originally introduced as Bill C-377 by the NDP in 2008; the Bill died when an election was called in the Fall of 2008. In its most recent form, Bill C-311 passed third reading in the House by a majority of MPs representing almost 2/3 of the Canadian population.

Concerned Canadians have constantly raised their voices demanding strong action from our government on climate change, and we hope to see this Bill move forward this fall.

If you agree that these issues are important and the federal government needs to act on them this fall, contact your MP today and tell them to take action for Canada's environment.

Climate Change Accountability Stalled in Senate, Faces Opposition from Chamber of Commerce

What could be more iconic than a summer road trip? Time for sun, sightseeing and… smog? That's right - we're deep into the hazy days of summer, and climate change is still on our minds.

Bill C-311, the only piece of climate change legislation currently under consideration in Canada, may be stalled in the Senate for the rest of the summer. As reported in The Globe and Mail, the Bill has been adjourned in the name of Conservative Senator Richard Neufeld and cannot move forward until he speaks to it.

The Bill was introduced in the House of Commons by NDP MP Bruce Hyer and is being supported in the Senate by Liberal Senator Grant Mitchell.

This Bill has been passed in the House of Commons not once, but twice. It was originally introduced as Bill C-377 by the NDP in 2008; the Bill died when an election was called in the Fall of 2008. In its most recent form, Bill C-311 passed third reading in the House by a majority of MPs representing almost 2/3 of the Canadian population.

In addition to the legislative delays that Bill C-311 has faced, another challenge is looming after the National Post reported that the Canadian Chamber of Commerce is calling on its members to lobby the Senate to kill the Bill. Their argument: requiring a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change is a threat to Canada's economic competitiveness.

Supporters of the Bill point out that there are many lucrative opportunities in a new green economy that can only be achieved if we take action now to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. The Bill also contains provisions to modify the ambitious targets of a 25% reduction below 1990 levels by 2020 and an 80% reduction by 2050.

Concerned Canadians have constantly raised their voices demanding strong action from our government on climate change. We recognize that if we continue down the road we're on, it's leading to a dead end.

Nature Canada hopes the Senate will pass the bill and allow Canada to start catching up!

Photo by confidence, comely/Flickr

Canada ranked low on Environmental Performance Index

The Environmental Performance Index (EPI), a tool that was developed to measure the environmental performance of a country's policies, has ranked Canada 46th out of the 163 countries measured.

The major environmental factor that pushed Canada further down the list was its ranking for greenhouse gas emissions per capita: 151st, beaten by all industrialized nations except Australia. This GHG ranking was based on data that was collected for the years 2007 and 2008 without even accounting for 2009!

A few other disappointing rankings revealed by the EPI were:

- 125th (out 127 countries) on fisheries conservation; beaten by Australia, New Zealand and Iceland. The US also scored better than Canada - mainly due to its federal regulations for sustainable fisheries.

- 80th on preserving biodiversity and habitat;

- 140th in preserving the vitality of ecosystems;

- 146th in sulphur dioxide emissions;

- 147th in nitrous oxide emissions.

It seems Canada will have to saddle up to start revitalizing its reputation as an environmental leader!