Blast from the past - 2006 Dion Policy Channel interview

During the leadership race, way back in 2006, Dion was interviewed by Satya Das from Policy Channel in Edmonton, Alberta. Being at least two years old, the interview is a bit out-of-date and some policies have of course evolved in that time. But I thought it was worth re-posting because it provides an in-depth discussion of several policy areas.

In this bilingual interview, Das and Dion discuss Alberta, the environment, energy, the economy, the north, social justice, especially for Aboriginal people, the Kelowna Accord, international peace and security, and water management.

This interview was one of the major factors in my conversion to big-L Liberalism. I had a good impression of Dion previously, especially as environment minister, and was very glad when he won the leadership. This interview showed that he understands the complex interrelationship between the environment, social justice and the economy - his "three pillars." And also the impact of the environment on international issues, e.g. water security has a huge impact on the potential for violent conflict. I was also pleased with his emphasis on Aboriginal issues, especially education.

Taped in Edmonton during the 2006 Liberal leadership race. The interview is in three parts - parts 1 & 2 in English; partie 3 - en français. (Mouseover the video to select another video from the series.)



PART 1
In this 2006 interview, Dion discusses his experience in government, his vision for the future, "reconciling the people and the planet," Alberta, energy and the environment. "I'm ready right away to be a very good leader and partner for Albertans. Alberta is my country. I fought to keep Alberta as part of my country." Also discusses international issues - democracy, health, avoiding war and violent conflict, human rights. Emphasizes importance of water management around the world.

PART 2
Dion discusses the north, Aboriginal people, education for Aboriginal youth, the Kelowna Accord, the economy, his three-pillar approach, the sponsorship scandal.

PARTIE 3
Stéphane Dion discute la course au leadership libéral (2006); l'Alberta, l'environnement, l'économie; l'approche à trois piliers - prospérité économique, justice sociale et environnement durable; le cercle virtueux; sa vision pour l'avenir.

Canada - You Have a Choice

From Avaaz.ca - Hear/download the song and sign the pledge at http://www.avaaz.ca/ca/stop_harper_pledge/

Artists Unite to Defeat Harper and Fight Climate Change

New song features Canadian musicians to raise hope and awareness

OTTAWA – Canadian artists have joined together to record a song, titled "You Have a Choice," to mobilize Canadian voters to let their voices be heard in support of strong, concrete action on climate change. The song is sponsored by Avaaz, a new web movement with over 300,000 supporters across Canada. Click here to download the song.

"Elizabeth May said it best in the debates, the Harper climate change plan is a fraud," said Avaaz Executive Director Ricken Patel.

"I have also seen first hand how the Conservative government is actively wrecking international progress on climate change."

While the majority of Canadians want action on climate change and believe that Harper is offside with their views, voters often feel that one vote can't make a difference. This is why prominent Canadian artists have come together in support of strategic voting to defeat Harper.

"These bright lights of the Canadian music scene are sending a message to voters: you can make a difference, and we need to come together and strategically support candidates who will defeat Stephen Harper and fight climate change," said Patel.
The Canadian artists who rallied together for this effort include: K-OS, Ed Robertson of the Barenaked Ladies, Ben Kowalewicz of Billy Talent, Adam Gontier of Three Days Grace, Sarah Harmer, Hawksley Workman, Jason Collett of Broken Social Scene, Darren Dumas of The Salads and the Arts Offstage Choir under the direction of David Reed. The song was written and produced by The Hundreds and Thousands' Ian Lefeuvre and K-OS. Lyrics all contributed by the artists. Additional keyboards are performed by Todor Kobakov from Major Maker. The track was mastered by Joao Carvalho.

With bagpipes, swirling guitars, soaring choruses and a chilling choral performance, familiar voices bring a powerful message of the necessity of action and the importance of each and every vote on October 14. “You Have a Choice” will be released to radio stations across Canada, and Canadians can download an MP3 by visiting AVAAZ.ca.
Source: http://www.avaaz.ca/you_have_a_choice/

For strategic voting info for every riding in Canada, visit http://www.voteforenvironment.ca/.

Vote smart

The Vote for Environment website has calculated seat counts with and without strategic voting:


It's clear that with strategic voting all of the opposition parties would be better off. We would elect a Liberal minority with strong representation from the NDP and Bloc, one Green and two independents.

The site features recommendations to beat the Tories in each riding, with polls giving current standings.

On their blog, they quote Elizabeth May in yesterday's Toronto Star:

May urged Canadians to do all they can to throw Prime Minister Stephen Harper out of office, including strongly suggesting they shouldn't vote Green if another candidate has a better chance at defeating a Conservative.

"We are too close to the edge of a global apocalypse," May said in an interview. "We have got to grab the opportunities we have. And, clearly, the contribution Canadians can make to a global solution is to get rid of Stephen Harper."

"I'd rather have no Green seats and Stephen Harper lose, than a full caucus that stares across the floor at Stephen Harper as prime minister, because his policies are too dangerous," she said.

If there was ever a time for strategic voting, this is it.

Help Avaaz stop Harper

Save the Planet: Stop Harper!
For the last two years, the Harper government has done everything it could to wreck the world's efforts to fix climate change. At UN negotiations, Canada has been voted the WORST country in the world on climate change 3 times! Now, it's election time, and we have to make sure that Harper pays the price at the polls for his reckless and un-Canadian climate policy.

Avaaz is targeting 3 of Harper's top MPs (including Environment Minister John Baird) where it will hurt them the most -- at the grass roots. Together, we will try to stop their re-election with ad campaigns telling their constituents just how irresponsible they've been in the name of all Canadians. We'll beat them not by supporting any one party, but by appealing to all voters to help save the planet by voting for the candidate most likely to beat the Conservatives. Our ad campaign is ready to launch in these ridings, but we urgently need your help to raise $50,000 this week.
http://www.avaaz.org/en/stop_harper/

Healthy environment = healthy economy

Dion links a healthy environment with a healthy economy -

Canadians should not pay more taxes. But we need to be taxed differently to be stronger collectively.... When we ask Canadians, "What is your priority, the economy or the environment?" my answer is both. We need to bring them together instead of opposing them.

Stéphane Dion on TVO's The Agenda, September 18, 2008. See the complete interview on the TVO website.

Dion on The Current

Here's audio of Dion's interview with Anna Maria Tremonti on CBC Radio's The Current yesterday:

http://www.innutube.com/play_audio.php?audio=65


He explained very clearly how the green shift will support lower and middle income people.

The Green Shift announcement

Here's a YouTube playlist with Dion's complete Green Shift / le Tournant vert speech (4 parts, EN/FR) - http://ca.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=AEB06DA71023E70E

Stéphane Dion - won't back down

Stéphane Dion - he'll stand his ground and he won't back down - on national unity, Canadian sovereignty, climate change, human rights, poverty, youth, the arts, the economy, farmers, what's right for Canada, Canadian winters. (Music: I won't back down, Tom Petty)

We can no longer use our atmosphere as a free garbage dump

Nous ne pouvons plus utiliser notre atmosphère comme décharge gratuite.

Since Stéphane Dion mentioned the Liberal "Balancing Our Carbon Budget" white paper in his recent press conference, here's the background on the announcement from March 16, 2007.

Video of the announcement (2 parts, EN/FR) -

Text of the March 16, 2007 speech -

English - Remarks - Balancing Our Carbon Budget
PDF of the white paper.

En français - Remarques - Respecter notre budget carbone
PDF du livre blanc.

Dion's Bali press conference

Finally got a chance to post this on YouTube:

Canadian Liberal leader Stéphane Dion holds a press conference at United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC) in Bali, Indonesia, December 12, 2007. (Topics include: environment, climate change, Arctic, permafrost, adaptation, Kyoto Protocol, United Nations, Canada) (2 parts, EN)

Stéphane Dion - PolicyChannel interview (English, français)

So with 2008 just around the corner, and a federal election likely to happen in the next few months, thought I'd share with you this great interview from Policy Channel in Edmonton, Alberta.

Satya Das interviewed Stéphane Dion during the 2006 Liberal leadership race in English et en français. Das and Dion discuss Alberta, the environment, energy, the economy, social justice, especially for Aboriginal people, international peace and security, and water management.

This interview was one of the major factors in my conversion to big-L Liberalism. I had a good impression of Dion previously, especially as environment minister, and was very glad when he won the leadership. This interview showed that he understands the interrelationship between the environment, social justice and the economy - his "three pillars." And also the impact of the environment on international issues, e.g. water security has a huge impact on the potential for violent conflict. I was also pleased with his emphasis on Aboriginal issues, especially education.

Taped in Edmonton during the 2006 Liberal leadership race. The interview is in three parts - parts 1 & 2 in English; partie 3 - en français. (Click the "menu" toggle button to select another video from the series.)



PART 1
Dion discusses his experience in government, his vision for the future, "reconciling the people and the planet," Alberta, energy and the environment. "I'm ready right away to be a very good leader and partner for Albertans. Alberta is my country. I fought to keep Alberta as part of my country." Also discusses international issues - democracy, health, avoiding war and violent conflict, human rights. Emphasizes importance of water management around the world.

PART 2
Dion discusses the north, Aboriginal people, education for Aboriginal youth, the Kelowna Accord, the economy, his three-pillar approach, the sponsorship scandal.

PARTIE 3
Stéphane Dion discute la course au leadership libéral (2006); l'Alberta, l'environnement, l'économie; l'approche à trois piliers - prospérité économique, justice sociale et environnement durable; le cercle virtueux; sa vision pour l'avenir.

Stéphane Dion - More year-end & Bali interviews

Stéphane Dion, Global National, Dec 2007

"Canada in Conversation" - Global National anchor Kevin Newman interviews official opposition leader Stéphane Dion, December 2007. Dion discusses Canada's combat mission in Afghanistan, the Manley commission, election chances in 2008, the Mulroney-Schreiber affair, and Dion as a politician. [08:15, English]

Stéphane Dion - year-end interview (Don Newman, Politics, CBC, Dec 18, 2007)
Canadian Liberal leader Stéphane Dion in a year-end interview with the CBC's Don Newman (Politics), December 18, 2007. Topics include election readiness, income trusts, United Nations climate change conference in Bali, Kyoto Protocol, environment. [10:16, English]

Update! - a slightly edited version of the above CBC intvu (to fit the under-10 minute requirement) is now available on YouTube:

Stéphane Dion - year-end interview (Question Period, CTV, Dec 23, 2007)
Canadian Liberal leader Stéphane Dion in a year-end interview with CTV's Craig Oliver (Question Period), December 23, 2007. Dion discusses possibility of an election in 2008, the economy, Harper's lack of plans, the Liberal team, Quebec, federal-provincial relations, the need for a public inquiry into the Mulroney-Schreiber affair, winter in the Laurentians in the snow with Kyoto. [11:54, English]

And here's another Bali interview. . .
Stéphane Dion - entrevue sur le blocage des négociations à la conférence de Bali
L'entrevue avec Stéphane Dion sur le blocage des négociations à la conférence de Bali. (Radio Canada, le 14 décembre 2007. Environnement, changements climatiques, gaz à effet de serre, UNFCCC, ONU, Nations Unies) [5:43, français]

And here's a link to my previous post with video of more year-end interviews, Dion's press conference in Bali, and (a blast from the recent past) Dion's throne speech response (October 17).

Canada tied with US in Fossil award count

Canada and the US are way ahead of the pack in the running for the prestigious-in-a-very-shameful-kind-of-way Fossil of the Year award.

As of December 13, Canada and the US both have 22 points, well ahead of Japan, our closest competitor.

In fact, Canada's no-longer-new-really-kind-of-fossilized government is so good at this, that on December 13, Canada not only won third prize all by itself, but we also tied for first place with the US, Japan and Russia. Wow. I bet John Baird is really impressed that he's in the same club with the big boys.

Minister Baird gets all the credit for third prize to himself. According to Avaaz.org:

Canada takes third for walking out of a high-level negotiation meeting long before the end of a crucial discussion. Yesterday, a “Friends of the Chair” meeting brought together 40 key ministers to work through tough issues that officials had not been able to resolve. In the midst of this, Canadian Environment Minister John Baird abruptly got up and left. Where was he going? He was spotted moments later holding a drink at a negotiation-free cocktail reception.

Here's a pretty picture from avaaz.org to illustrate our race for the stratosphere - of course Canada is the red line:

And if that doesn't make your heart just burst with pride to be a Canadian, how about this? Youth delegates were intimidated by a Canadian security official who implied that they might end up in an Indonesian prison for holding up a sign at an appearance by Baird. And check out the spin by Harper's press secretary Dimitri Soudas near the end of the article. Impressive. Just like Question Period.

Canadian protesters upset with treatment at climate change summit in Bali
By Mike De Souza, CanWest News Service, Published: Wednesday, December 12, 2007
A youth delegation protesting the Harper government's climate change policies say that a Canadian representative intimidated them on Wednesday with a warning about Indonesian prisons to get them away from a news conference held by Environment Minister John Baird.

"He said that we might have free speech in Canada, but we don't know if we have it here, and we wouldn't want to be arrested by the Indonesian police," said Elizabeth McDowell, 24, who travelled to Bali from Vancouver.

McDowell was among a handful of Canadians who held up a sign questioning the government's leadership at the climate change conference while Baird was arriving to speak with reporters.

But she said the federal government representative who is in charge of Canadian security at the summit quickly yelled out to Indonesian police asking them to question the youth.

"He called them over and he was quite aggressive," said McDowell.

A spokesperson for Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the Canadian representative was not part of the government, but defended his actions.

"My understanding is that he was watching out for them and ensuring their safety," said Harper's press secretary Dimitri Soudas. "He was trying to be helpful. That's a shame that they took his kindness towards them and spun it."

Soudas has urged Canadian reporters covering the climate change summit to be skeptical about the dozens of Canadian youth who are promoting action on global warming, since some of them are card-carrying members of the Liberal party.

But McDowell said the accusations suggest the government is scared of criticism, noting that Baird bailed out of a scheduled event the previous night to present his own climate change plan to the conference.

"I think they're a little bit threatened by us," she said. "They're not ready to defend their plan because they don't have one, and they're not ready to defend their actions here."

She stressed that she had no particular political affiliation, adding that the youth coalition is made up of people from all political stripes.

The Indonesian police officer who was called over by the Canadian representative asked the youth a few questions, but soon walked away after determining they were no threat to security.

The youth have complained that they have been excluded from the official Canadian government delegation - along with environmental groups and opposition parties - while industry representatives, including an oilpatch executive, were welcome. Baird has not responded to requests for a meeting with the youth, she said.

Canada's approach "A recipe for failure in Bali"

Read Stéphane Dion's Bali Blog

Stéphane Dion discussed his role at the UNFCCC in Bali as president of the 2005 climate change conference in Montreal in an interview with CPAC, Friday, December 7, 2007.

My role is as a personality who has some networks, some influence, some experience because I've been the president of the 2005 conference of the United Nations on Climate Change....

Nobody disagrees that all the countries need to do something. Where there is a disagreement is when a country like Canada says that if the others don't do something, we will do nothing....

I'm not there to contradict the government as much as I'm there to help each delegation to go in the right direction.

I'm not a negotiator but I'm somebody who cares about the issue. We are speaking about the worst ecological threat humanity is facing and each of us must try to influence it in a good direction.

Here's the video -


Jean Langlois, Director of National Campaigns for Sierra Club Canada, agreed with Dion's assessment that "Canada's approach is a recipe for failure in Bali." Here's video of Langlois' interview with CTV, Tuesday, December 11, 2007.



CTV reports that Dion "has met with Canadian environmentalists -- something the government delegation hasn't done -- and will meet with UN climate boss Yvo de Boer, who had some pointed words about the Canadian position."

Meanwhile, Baird showed the standard of "leadership" we have come to expect from our formerly new government -

Baird was supposed to explain Canada's position at a meeting with non-governmental activists attending the conference. He showed up for the meeting, but quickly left before speaking.

Canadian activists and others waited for the minister to return. But they were later told Baird had to attend negotiations and would not be back.

"The minister who was supposed to address us was AWOL. He ran away," said Olivier Lavoie of the Canadian Youth in Action.

Lavoie said the minister probably did not want to confront young activists critical of Canada's stand.

Yvo de Boer "had some pointed words about the Canadian position. 'I personally find it interesting to hear Canada just a little while ago indicating it would not meet its commitments under the Kyoto Protocol,' de Boer said Monday. 'Now (it's) calling on developing countries to take binding reduction targets.'"

Kyoto Protocol, Montréal 2005 UNFCCC - video retrospective

In preparation for Bali, here's an intro and a video retrospective of some highlights of the 2005 UNFCCC Conference in Montréal, of which Stéphane Dion was President.

United Nations Climate Change Conference
(COP 11 and CMP 1)

28 November to 9 December 2005
Palais des Congrès de Montréal

Canada hosted the first Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol in Montreal in conjunction with the eleventh session of the Conference of the Parties to the Climate Change Convention.

The conference was an historic event. The Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) met for the 11th time, while marking the entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol. At Montreal, the first ever Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol (CMP) ran parallel to the Conference of the Parties to the Convention (COP). The United Nations Climate Change Conference was the largest intergovernmental climate conference since the Kyoto Protocol was adopted in 1997. Some 10,000 participants attended.

The conference attracted unprecedented business interest as a result of two operation trading systems: the pan-European emissions trading scheme and the Clean Development Mechanism, a tool to promote sustainable development and combat climate change.

United Nations Climate Change Conference agrees on future critical steps to tackle climate change
Montreal, 10 December 2005--The United Nations Climate Change Conference closed with the adoption of more than forty decisions that will strengthen global efforts to fight climate change. Reflecting on the success of Montreal 2005, the Conference President, Canadian Environment Minister Stéphane Dion said: “Key decisions have been made in several areas. The Kyoto Protocol has been switched on, a dialogue about the future action has begun, parties have moved forward work on adaptation and advanced the implementation of the regular work programme of the Convention and of the Protocol.”
Source: http://unfccc.int/meetings/cop_11/items/3394.php

Opening plenary
After being formally elected as President, Stéphane Dion speaks at the opening plenary of the 2005 UNFCCC in Montréal. (English/français. 2 parts)


Opening press conference
Stéphane Dion and UNFCCC Acting Executive Secretary Richard Kinley at the press conference for the opening of the 2005 UNFCCC in Montréal. Part 4 ends with the World Wildlife Fund panda delivering a message and a "big cuddly hug" for Président Dion. (English/français. 4 parts)


Closing press conference
Stéphane Dion and Richard Kinley at UNFCCC closing press conference - 6:45 AM on December 10, 2005 after a gruelling all-night session.

"The United Nations Climate Change Conference closed with the adoption of more than forty decisions that will strengthen global efforts to fight climate change. Reflecting on the success of Montreal 2005, the Conference President, Canadian Environment Minister Stéphane Dion said: 'Key decisions have been made in several areas. The Kyoto Protocol has been switched on, a dialogue about the future action has begun, parties have moved forward work on adaptation and advanced the implementation of the regular work programme of the Convention and of the Protocol.'"
http://unfccc.int/meetings/cop_11/items/3394.php
(English/français. 3 parts)

Dion Hailed Saviour of Kyoto Protocol
Canada's Environment Minister [Stéphane Dion] is being hailed an international "hero" who withstood fierce resistance to find agreement to extend mandatory pollution limits on most of the world's worst offenders.

Environmentalists are praising Stéphane Dion, chair of the UN Climate Change Conference, and his advisors for clinching a deal that will commit 35 industrialized nations to deeper greenhouse gas emission reductions when the Kyoto Protocol targets elapse in 2012. The United States and Australia are the only major emitters that refused to sign the pact.

"Stéphane Dion should go down as a world hero for making this happen," says John Bennett, a senior policy advisor for the Sierra Club of Canada. "All credit goes to him and his negotiators."

The deal is the crowning achievement of the two-week international summit in Montreal that finished in the early hours of Dec. 10.
Source: Embassy Magazine, December 14, 2005

(Photo courtesy IISD)

Action on climate change - short-term pain to avoid long-term devastation

In reply to my post on "Rex Murphy's Bali logic," Kevin says:

If you feel that strongly about it you are completely free to donate your own time and money to the cause. The fact of the mater is though that if Canada were to sign on to this while the US and China are clearly not the consequences would be economic suicide. Ontario's manufacturers already suffering under a strong dollar would move to the unregulated jurisdictions and we would loose the jobs. The CO2 would still be produced and we would have nothing to show for our sacrifices. If this argument seems familiar it is the same argument that was made against the free trade agreement. That industry would move to the low cost unregulated producer. For the US this has certainly been the case as they have lost most of their manufacturing sector.

Kevin, we don't have a choice. We have to find a way to reduce emissions or the economic, social, and environmental consequences will be catastrophic. It's a matter of a manageable amount of pain now or total devastation later. Read the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change.

The scientific evidence is now overwhelming: climate change is a serious global threat, and it demands an urgent global response.

This Review has assessed a wide range of evidence on the impacts of climate change and on the economic costs, and has used a number of different techniques to assess costs and risks. From all of these perspectives, the evidence gathered by the Review leads to a simple conclusion: the benefits of strong and early action far outweigh the economic costs of not acting.

Climate change will affect the basic elements of life for people around the world – access to water, food production, health, and the environment. Hundreds of millions of people could suffer hunger, water shortages and coastal flooding as the world warms.

Using the results from formal economic models, the Review estimates that if we don’t act, the overall costs and risks of climate change will be equivalent to losing at least 5% of global GDP each year, now and forever. If a wider range of risks and impacts is taken into account, the estimates of damage could rise to 20% of GDP or more.

In contrast, the costs of action – reducing greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the worst impacts of climate change – can be limited to around 1% of global GDP each year.

The investment that takes place in the next 10-20 years will have a profound effect on the climate in the second half of this century and in the next. Our actions now and over the coming decades could create risks of major disruption to economic and social activity, on a scale similar to those associated with the great wars and the economic depression of the first half of the 20th century. And it will be difficult or impossible to reverse these changes.

So prompt and strong action is clearly warranted. Because climate change is a global problem, the response to it must be international. It must be based on a shared vision of long-term goals and agreement on frameworks that will accelerate action over the next decade, and it must build on mutually reinforcing approaches at national, regional and international level.

Sir Nicholas Stern isn't some greenie-dogooder. He's a hard-headed economist, Head of the UK's Government Economic Service and former World Bank Chief Economist. His review was commissioned by the UK government. On the launch of the report in October 2006, Stern said:

The conclusion of the Review is essentially optimistic. There is still time to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, if we act now and act internationally. Governments, businesses and individuals all need to work together to respond to the challenge. Strong, deliberate policy choices by governments are essential to motivate change.

But the task is urgent. Delaying action, even by a decade or two, will take us into dangerous territory. We must not let this window of opportunity close.

FYI, I do donate my own time and money to the cause, and I do make a lot of personal sacrifices like not using air conditioning in my home at all, keeping my furnace set at 15C all winter, and not logging my woodlot (which would bring in money that I could really use). And I'm a vegetarian. When I can afford to I'd like to convert my home to completely renewable energy sources. While it's important for individuals to contribute, coordination and leadership from government is essential, and can help individuals with their own efforts.

Canadians, including many businesses and industries, are ready - it's only our government and apparently a big chunk of our media that aren't.

Rex Murphy's "Bali logic"

Kevin was kind enough to send a link to Rex Murphy's piece "Bali logic" in response to my previous post on Dion attending the Bali summit to do the job Harper should be doing.

To call Rex Murphy's opinion on climate change "logic" is a bit of a stretch.

Murphy says:

And where is the plain sense in proclaiming a global problem and designing a solution that exempts two of the largest contributors to that problem from the scheme to correct it?

What doesn't make sense is to let the planet be destroyed rather than doing everything we can to slow down and eventually stop the destructive process.

What doesn't make sense is to demand that the world's poorest countries - where many of the people don't have electricity or sufficient food or clean water - move first to solve a problem that the developed countries created.

Canada is one of the most wasteful countries in the world. We're blessed with an abundance of resources that we waste with no thought for the future or even for what's happening right now.

Canada is also blessed with a well-educated and technologically-advanced population - that means we have the resources to contribute toward solving the problem.

We can develop methodologies and technologies to mitigate and slow down climate change, then we can share them with the developing world to help them slow down their emissions. We can sell our technologies to other developed countries and make "megatonnes of money" as Dion says. If we don't, we'll not only be left with a severely degraded environment, we'll harm our economy because other developed countries will take advantage of the huge opportunities available in developing and selling green technologies.

What people like Murphy don't seem to be able to get through their heads is that this isn't just some cute little political football we're talking about. This is our entire world. This is everything. Destroy it and we have no place left to live.

It's not only unethical and immoral to do nothing, it's astoundingly stupid.

Dion doing Harper's job - again

So tell me again why we're paying this Harper guy, giving him free houses to live in, official car, official chef, office, staff, security guards etc. etc. etc.?

Once again Stéphane Dion has to do Harper's job (and Baird's) because the prime minister and environment minister just aren't up to it. They're not getting things done. Well, not the things that Canadians want done, like protecting our planet and our citizens.

Dion attending Bali summit for Earth, not political gain
Mike De Souza, CanWest News Service
Published: Friday, November 30, 2007

OTTAWA -- Liberal Leader Stephane Dion says his upcoming trip to a United Nations climate change summit in Indonesia has nothing to do with revitalizing his image or embarrassing the Harper government on the international stage.

Following a rocky first year, filled with ups and downs as leader of the official Opposition, Mr. Dion told CanWest News Service in an interview that he is more concerned with the risk of irreversible damage to the Earth's climate, and hopes to capitalize on his international contacts to give the planet a boost at the environmental negotiating table.

"My role is not to be a substitute for the government of Canada. My role is to try to push everyone to get a better result,"said Mr. Dion in his office on Parliament Hill. "I'm not alone. There's also (former U.S. vice-president Al) Gore and many other people who will be doing the same thing."

A spokesperson for Prime Minister Stephen Harper immediately reacted to the news that Mr. Dion would attend the Bali conference by e-mailing reporters to remind them that the Liberal leader had said in June that he would never speak out against the government when discussing matters with representatives of other countries.

But Mr. Dion, who chaired the 2005 UN climate change summit in Montreal, said his office has already been flooded by e-mails and phone calls from international politicians, business leaders and environmental organizations, who hope to meet with him at the conference in search of solutions to stop humans from causing global warming.

"I'm not going to claim that 180 countries want to see me. But, yes, there is movement," said Mr. Dion. "As the former chairperson of the conference, with a big network and a degree of expertise, I will see what I can do to create some good momentum."

At the Montreal summit, environmentalists have credited Mr. Dion with brokering an agreement that would prevent a gap between the end of the Kyoto Protocol's first commitment period in 2012 and the next set of binding targets.

Environment Minister John Baird has not yet introduced regulations to crack down on pollution from large industries in Canada, but has insisted that his government would correct the mistakes made by the previous Liberal regime, which allowed greenhouse gas emissions to soar by more than 30% above the country's Kyoto target.

"It's very easy for the people who had the responsibility for 13 years to say how easy it would have been to act -- when they didn't act themselves," Mr. Baird said following a breakfast speech to the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce. "But we've got a good plan and I'm confident."

Mr. Baird has said the key to a successful international agreement is getting large polluting countries such as the U.S., India and China to sign on to binding targets. His office confirms that he has met with leaders and officials from all three countries, at international conferences and in Canada.

Mr. Dion said that he visited China twice in 2005 to convince them to come to the table and is not surprised that developing countries have always rejected binding targets.

"I know that's their position. I negotiated with them and I know this very well," Mr. Dion said. "I'm not telling you that everything would be solved if I was there."

Even so, he said, "I was at the conference in Montreal and we succeeded getting these countries to enter into a dialogue for the first time."

Mr. Dion accused the Conservative government of stalling the process by giving up on Canada's Kyoto Protocol commitments and holding out on a new deal instead of leading other countries by being the first to sign on.

He said Canada had more credibility when it was still trying to meet its targets and demonstrate to developing countries, where millions of people do not have electricity, that it is possible to reduce greenhouse gas emissions without devastating the economy.

The Harper government has refused to invite opposition parties as part of its official delegation because, it says, it wants to avoid partisan bickering. All three parties have said they will send delegates at their own expense.

Once again, Harper & company are getting nasty things done with Canadian taxpayers' money.

Canadians give the green light to real action on climate change: Poll

Sixty-eight percent of Canadians report that they have personally experienced climate change, and they expect their federal government to get with the program and do something about it.

A poll published in late September says "Canadians Tell Harper: Stand with EU, Not Bush on Climate Change."

The Harris/Decima poll, conducted by Allan Gregg for ClimateforChange.ca, found that "fully 61% of Canadians believe that Canada should be aligned on the international stage with European countries and other nations committed to establishing further Kyoto-like targets. Only 25% of those surveyed believed that Canada should continue the Harper policy of joining nations like the United States and Australia who oppose setting future Kyoto-like targets.“

“Canadians want our Prime Minister to quit running with the wrong crowd when it comes to international efforts to combat climate change,” said John Bennett, Executive Director, ClimateforChange.ca.

Furthermore, 81% of respondents said that "Difficulty in achieving targets is no reason not to try" (p. 22).

And 67% of respondents want any shortfall from the first Kyoto period (2008-2012) added to our post-2012 targets.

Findings demonstrate a widespread dissatisfaction with the Harper Conservatives’ climate change agenda despite a year of persistent effort by the government to rebrand itself on the issue and to undermine support for the Kyoto Protocol. The Canadian public continues to hold a strong belief that Canada should remain part of the Kyoto Protocol. Recognizes that the government has failed to regulate industry and is abandoning Kyoto.

Significantly, 68% of respondents feel that the "motivation of federal Conservative government for environmental changes and announcements" is "Trying to win votes."

And "87% of Canadians rank ‘protecting the environment’ as either an important or very important issue when it comes to how they intend to cast their vote in the next federal election."

Poll highlights:

• p. 3 - The environment is "the most important issue facing Canada today" by a huge margin.
• p. 5 - 87% rate "Protecting the environment" as very important/important in voting decision (tied for first place with improving healthcare)
• p. 8, 11 - 68% report that they have personally experienced climate change and that the effects of climate change are occurring now.
• p. 9 - 50% say that climate change is caused primarily by human and industrial activity; another 37% say human and industrial activity plus natural forces. Only 9% say primarily natural forces.
  
• p. 13 - 76% think the oil & gas industry should take responsibility for reducing carbon emissions; 70%/federal government; 70% big business
  
• p. 19 - Perceived motivation of federal Conservative government for environmental changes and announcements - 68% say "Trying to win votes"
• p. 21 - 58% say 2020 is too late to achieve reduction targets
  
• p. 22 - 81% say "Difficulty in achieving targets is no reason not to try" and 90% say"even if we can't meet targets, we should not be giving up" (p.27)
  
• p. 23 - 67% say "Any previous shortfall [reaching Kyoto targets] should be added to our post 2012 commitments"
• p. 24 - 61% say "Canada should be siding with European countries who want to further Kyoto-like targets"
• p. 25 - 92% say "we owe it to future generations to tackle climate crisis now"
  
• p. 25 - 89% say "morally wrong for Canada not to show leadership and reduce emissions"
• p. 25 - 88% say "the Canada I would like is an international leader not a big polluter"
  

Source: http://climateforchange.ca/?q=MR-09-24-2007

(Poll conducted August 15-21, 2007. Sample size=1,000. Margin of error = +/-3.2%)

The Hypocritical Party of Canada and the Kyoto Protocol

Why doesn't the CPC just change its name to the Hypocritical Party of Canada (HPC)? We could have Hyppos to go with the Rhinos.

The Conservatives have no intention of even trying to meet Kyoto targets but they don't have the guts to actually withdraw from the agreement.

Canada won't withdraw from Kyoto: Baird

MURRAY BREWSTER, The Canadian Press, October 19, 2007 at 3:18 PM EDT

Ottawa — Environment Minister John Baird says Canada will not formally withdraw from the Kyoto protocol, even though the Conservative government's latest throne speech declared the objectives in the global climate change treaty are unattainable.

Environmental groups called the statement “patently dishonest,” saying if the Tories had the strength of their convictions, they would explicitly abandon the treaty as they promised in the 2004 election campaign and suffer the political consequences.

“We've been very clear,” Mr. Baird told a infrastructure news conference in suburban Orleans, Ont. “We have no intention of withdrawing from the UN framework; the Kyoto protocol.”

Mr. Baird said the Tories intend to forge ahead with their own strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions domestically, while working with other countries on realistic, long-term solutions.

But John Bennett of ClimateforChange.ca, says it's hypocritical for the Conservatives to continue to support the protocol in name-only.

They've figured out that the Canadian public supports Kyoto and aren't willing to pay the political price of uttering the words “withdrawal,” he said.

One of the pillars of this week's throne speech was a statement that targets set out in the environmental international framework are unachievable.

“At the end of 2005, Canada's greenhouse gas emissions were 33 per cent above the Kyoto commitment,” said the speech delivered by the governor general Tuesday night. “It is now widely understood that, because of inaction on greenhouse gases over the last decade, Canada's emissions cannot be brought to the level required under the Kyoto Protocol within the compliance period, which begins on Jan. 1, 2008, just 77 days from now.”

In the days leading up to the speech, Conservative insiders signalled the Kyoto reference was a trap meant to ensnare Liberal Leader Stephane Dion on one of his most cherished policy points.

“What we have here is the unique situation of a government playing with an environmental issue solely in political terms,” said Mr. Bennett. “They really in their hearts don't believe climate change is a problem, have no desire to put any effort whatsoever into reducing emissions until they discovered the public wouldn't accept that.”

Mr. Baird disputed that in the House of Commons this week, making it clear that he believes climate change is a man-made issue that poses a real threat.

A new public opinion survey suggests Canadians are unhappy with the environmental elements of the throne speech.

But Mr. Baird dismissed the survey in the Toronto Star, saying the throne speech is a broad statement of principles.

“I think Canadians are understandably skeptical about when politicians make commitments on our environment because they've seen a lot of talk and little action from the previous government,” he said.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper pledged to kill the Kyoto Protocol he was in opposition, describing it as nothing more than scheme to transfer wealth to developing nations. Following the January 2006 the Tories cancelled billions of dollars worth of federal climate change initiatives, but brought them back a year later with new names.

Mr. Baird rattled off the list of established Conservative policies, including the throne speech reference to the plan to slash emissions 20 per cent by the year 2020 and 70 per cent by 2050.

“Some people want to debate Ad nauseam,” he said. “There is not a consensus among political parties. There's not a consensus among premiers. There's not a consensus among environmentalists and the business community. What Canadians want to see is the federal government take action and that is what we are doing.”

The Conservatives have established a $1.5-billion fund to help provinces deal with climate change and air pollution. In addition, consumers who purchase fuel efficient vehicles are entitled to a rebate — a program announced in last spring's but just began issuing cheques a few weeks ago. (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071019.wkyoto_baird1019/BNStory/National/home)