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 Being at least two years old, the interview is a bit out-of-date and some policies have of course evolved in that time.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/

The Green Shift, good for corporate Canada

Stéphane Dion explains the tax advantages for corporations in The Green Shift policy.



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

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 mother of all ridiculous claims

OK, so the real femmeverte is back and merci mille fois to Deb Prothero for alerting us all to uranium-related and many other Conservative nefariousnesses while fv has been busy cleaning litterboxes, taking cats to vets and other feline maintenance duties. (Oh yeah and that pesky day job, necessary to bring home the cat food and pay the vet bills.)

Now I'm sure I'm absolutely the last person in the blogosphere to see this, but it bears repeating so I'm going to shamelessly steal the whole thing from the Green website. Hey, we're friends, right? And I like their colour scheme.

12.09.2008
Secret government study belies Harper's claim that carbon tax will cause recession

TORONTO – The Green Party is releasing a secret report to the federal government from one of Canada's leading economists, obtained under the Access to Information Act in 2007. The report supports a carbon tax as an effective way to make significant cuts in greenhouse gas emissions and concludes that a $50/tonne tax on carbon would have an insignificant impact on the Canadian economy and would open tremendous economic opportunities. The model estimates this carbon tax shift would cut emissions by about 36 megatonnes (MT) by 2010, 59 MT by 2015 and 114 MT by 2030 (Table 3).

Green Party leader Elizabeth May May diverted from her intended remarks at a campaign event in Toronto today to point out the hypocrisy of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and thereby kicked off the leaders' debate.

The study, undertaken for Natural Resources Canada by M.K. Jaccard and Associates (MKJA), calculates the impact of carbon taxes of between $10 and $250 per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) beginning in 2006 and applied throughout the economy at a single rate.

The report – Cost Curves for Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction in Canada: The Kyoto Period and Beyond – concludes that the GDP impact of a $50/tonne tax shift is less than 0.1% of GDP per year until 2010, is virtually zero during the next five years and is then positive after 2015 (see chart below).

Further, the report projects net financial savings to those who take action as a result of the tax shift, after taking into account the investment in emissions reductions. At $50 per tonne, that windfall comes to $13.8 billion by 2010 and climbs from there (see chart below).

"Mr. Harper's ridiculous claim that taxing carbon will bring about economic ruin and a recession is starkly contradicted by his own research," said Ms. May. "In fact, this report shows a positive impact on GDP beginning in 2015. With this in the public domain it is clear that Mr. Harper is deliberately distorting the evidence. Mr. Harper's fear mongering on a carbon tax is a deliberate and premeditated effort to demonize a sensible plan.

"The government’s own analysis proves that a $50 carbon tax shift will benefit businesses and individuals, and will achieve deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. The Prime Minister should now explain to Canadians why, in the face of this compelling evidence, his government stubbornly refuses to consider the carbon tax option and continues to viciously attack those who do. Mr. Harper must bring some
honesty into this debate."

In remaining doggedly opposed to even considering a carbon tax and attacking those who do, Conservatives are ignoring a growing international consensus among leading economists and a government-commissioned study contradicting its warnings of economic meltdown.

The Green Party of Canada would implement a $50 per tonne carbon tax shift – with matching cuts in income and payroll taxes – as the cornerstone of a comprehensive plan for a green energy future that will reinstate Canada as a leader in the global
campaign to prevent catastrophic climate change.

"When we first released our plan to put a price on carbon, Environment Minister John Baird saw fit to deride our plan as 'the mother of all tax increases' even though we propose a tax shift with no net increase in revenue," said Ms. May. "It's another example of the government's willingness to deliberately mislead Canadians in support of its ineffective and widely discredited climate change policies."
To download the report and supporting documents go to www.greenparty.ca/carbontax.

h/t to Saskboy & Green Assassin Brigade

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

One mile wide and one inch deep

Stéphane Dion's response to the federal budget, February 26, 2008: "A budget that is one mile wide and one inch deep." (EN/FR)

More on the Liberal response to the budget at http://www.liberal.ca/story_13624_e.aspx (EN) or http://www.liberal.ca/story_13624_f.aspx (FR).

And today's Question Period (EN/FR) -
Stéphane Dion asks the prime minister to bring back Bill C-30, the revised Clean Air Act, supported by all three opposition parties and dropped when Parliament was prorogued in the fall of 2007. Dion notes that the Conservative plan is so weak that polluters won't pay, they'll get paid. That would be by you and me, the taxpayers. Paying polluters to pollute - now that's getting things done!

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.

Video of Stéphane Dion's January 9 press conference

For anyone who missed it, here's video of Stéphane Dion's January 9 press conference.

Dion opened with a discussion of the economy and the Conservative record of leaving large deficits which have had to be cleaned up by Liberal governments.

He talks about federal-provincial relations and the first ministers' meeting.

On the subject of the Chalk River / AECL issue (nuclear isotopes), Dion calls again for Gary Lunn's resignation; calls for Lunn to appear before the parliamentary committee on natural resources; calls for the release of the Auditor-General's report on AECL and discusses government interference with administrative tribunals.

On the subject of the environment, Dion discusses the report of the National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy and similarities with the Liberal white paper released last March, Balancing Our Carbon Budget.

Re: the Mulroney-Schreiber affair, Dion calls again for a full public inquiry and for the Johnston report to be made public.

On election speculation - Dion will decide how to vote on the budget after seeing and discussing it with his caucus.

In response to a question from Joan Bryden on the Saskatchewan byelection, Dion explains why he appointed Joan Beatty as candidate in Desnethé-Missinippi-Churchill River.

On David Orchard, he says "I have strong regard for David Orchard, I'm in touch with him often. I hope we'll find a way to use his talents and skills in an optimal way."

Dion reiterated his view that Canada should inform NATO and the government of Afghanistan that our combat mission in Afghanistan will end in February 2009, but that we are willing to take a role in development, training, water management etc.

The video is in three parts, English with voiceover translation of French-language segments. See below for details of contents of each part.



Part 1 [09:22]
In part 1, Dion discusses the economy and the Conservative record of leaving large deficits which have had to be cleaned up by Liberal governments; federal-provincial relations and the first ministers' meeting; the Chalk River / AECL issue (nuclear isotopes); the report of the National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy; the Mulroney-Schreiber affair; election speculation. He responds to a question on the Saskatchewan byelection, Joan Beatty and David Orchard.

Part 2 [08:21]
In part 2, Dion responds to questions on the first ministers' meeting; CNSC, Gary Lunn, Chalk River, Linda Keen, the Auditor-General's report on AECL; election speculation; extending the combat mission in Afghanistan.

Part 3 [07:03]
In part 3, Dion takes questions on the economy; Chalk River, Gary Lunn, Linda Keen, government interference with administrative tribunals; and the first ministers' meeting.

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)

What kind of a leader is Stéphane Dion?

What kind of a leader is Stéphane Dion?

Dynamic, cool, funny, green, strong, inspiring, smart.

In this video, Dion plays ball hockey, jokes with Gavin Crawford of This Hour Has 22 Minutes and does some standup comedy at Toronto Summit 2007.

He's strong and inspiring on the environment, Aboriginal issues and human rights.

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

Indigenous people are suffering, and we Canadians must be leaders for human rights in the world.

That's why we have a Canada on this planet - to protect human rights.

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).

Stéphane Dion - Bali press conference, year-end interviews

Video coverage . . .

Stéphane Dion - press conference at Bali UNFCCC, 2007.12.12
And now also available on YouTube:

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

Stéphane Dion - CPAC year-end interview 2007.12.20
Now also available on YouTube:

Canadian Liberal leader Stéphane Dion in a year-end interview with CPAC, December 20, 2007. Dion and Peter Van Dusen discuss Dion's assessment of his first year as official opposition leader; reaction to negative press; the next election; Liberal party unity; the Harper Conservative record and agenda, e.g. Bali; the death penalty; Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) and supply management; Liberal vision and popularity; Liberal policies, e.g. poverty and environment.

Stéphane Dion - year-end interview on CTV's Mike Duffy Live, 2007.12.18
Canadian Liberal leader Stéphane Dion in a year-end interview on Mike Duffy Live (CTV), December 18, 2007. Topics include election probability, Chalk River nuclear reactor, the environment, Bali climate change conference, Kyoto Protocol, Quebec, role as leader of the opposition, Mulroney-Schreiber inquiry, Saskatchewan byelection, NAFTA.

And while we're at it -
Stéphane Dion's Throne Speech Response, Oct. 17, 2007
Stéphane Dion's response to the Speech from the Throne, House of Commons, October 17, 2007. Réponse par Stéphane Dion au discours du trône, le 17 octobre 2007.

And here are some more year-end interviews and a Bali interview from Radio Canada.

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)