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Strategies & Market Trends : Fascist Oligarchs Attack Cute Cuddly Canadians -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Terry Maloney who wrote (524)	9/2/2002 8:59:06 PM
From: Eashoa' M'sheekha	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1293

Just To Piss Off Alberta Before He Moves On To Greater Thangs. This will guarantee him a position on the World Stage. I recommend he use the character of Benedict Arnold for full effect. atlanticzone.ca Chretien stirs delight and fury with pledge to send Kyoto pact to Parliament 07:22 PM EDT Sep 02 JOHANNESBURG (CP) - Prime Minister Jean Chretien delighted environmentalists and infuriated the Alberta government on Monday by promising that Parliament will be asked to ratify the Kyoto climate accord before the end of the year. Chretien ended months of suspense in a speech at the sustainable development summit in South Africa, saying Canada is already feeling the effects of global warming and must assume its responsibilities in dealing with the problem. See below for: More on Chretien's plans "Extreme weather events around the world have underscored the reality of climate change as well as the imperative for global action, an imperative that is strongly felt by Canadians," he said. "When the consultations have concluded and before the end of the year, the Canadian Parliament will be asked to vote on the ratification of the Kyoto accord." Since all opposition parties except the Canadian Alliance support the accord, parliamentary approval is virtually certain. Chretien said the government is finalizing a plan to comply with the 1997 Kyoto accord, which requires Canada to cut greenhouse gas emissions six per cent from 1990 levels by 2008-2010. Greenhouse gases are transparent to incoming rays from the sun, but prevent those rays from being bounced back into space. Scientists say the buildup of such gases is causing Earth's temperature to rise, melting glaciers and disrupting weather patterns. The most important greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide produced by the burning of coal, oil and gas. Complying with the Kyoto accord will require important changes in the way Canadians use energy and a concerted effort to reduce the use of fossil fuels. Environmentalists welcomed the announcement but cautioned that cutting emissions will be a big challenge. "Obviously we're pleased that we've finally got an announcement from the prime minister on Kyoto," said Robin Round of the Halifax Initiative. "It's important what Canada has done here but it's only the beginning of the process." Alberta Environment Minister Lorne Taylor angrily warned that Alberta will consider all options to fight the federal decision, including a court challenge. He conceded that Ottawa has constitutional authority to sign international agreements but said provinces have jurisdiction over natural resources, and implementing the climate treaty will require their co-operation. "We feel quite strongly it's a breach of trust because there's been no consultations on a plan. To me it's really a meaningless statement to say we will go ahead and implement this if there is no plan and they have no plan." Stephen Guilbeault, a campaigner with Greenpeace, disputed Taylor's statement. "There's been huge consultation with the provinces. In fact his (Taylor's) own government was co-chairing a federal-provincial working group on climate change." Some months ago Ottawa released a Kyoto implementation proposal consisting of four scenarios. Provinces, industry, and the public were invited to submit comment, and a final plan is being prepared. Chretien said he never promised to obtain the agreement of all provinces before proceeding. "In Canada you cannot promise that you will do something only with the agreement of all the provinces. You might as well say you do not have a government any more." "We cannot wait forever," Chretien said at a briefing with reporters. "If we wait until 2011 people will say it's too late. We have an international obligation. Canada has always been strong on protection of the environment, the national government has to make a decision." Chretien's announcement marks a major divergence between U.S. and Canadian policy, since Washington has rejected the accord as potentially damaging to the U.S. economy. American activist Jennifer Morgan of the World Wildlife Fund said Canada's decision will put pressure on the United States to reconsider. "World Wildlife Fund believes this is a great contribution of Canada to the world summit. We now see a North American split on the Kyoto protocol, which is immensely significant." "I think it will undercut many of the arguments against the protocol in the United States. People will say, 'If Canada can do it, why can't we?"' Canadian Alliance MP Bob Mills said Chretien's announcement will be remembered in the same way as former prime minister Pierre Trudeau's National Energy Program. "His legacy will be extremely negative." Alliance MP John Herron said his party does not support "blind ratification" of the treaty without an implementation plan and provincial consensus. If Russia ratifies the accord as promised by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Canada's decision will bring international support to the level required for the treaty to take effect. But a Russian deputy minister, Mukhamed Tsikanov of the ministry for economic development and trade, recently hinted Russia is reconsidering its stance. Canadian officials said Monday their latest information is that Russia still intends to ratify. Chretien announces plan for the creation of parks, marine conservation areas JOHANNESBURG (CP) - Prime Minister Jean Chretien pledged Monday to dramatically expand Canada's park system with the creation of 10 new national parks and five marine conservation areas in the next few years. "I think we have a responsibility to Canadians to preserve the magnificent places in Canada for future generations," Chretien told reporters after making the announcement at the World Summit on Sustainable Development. "There's a new element too, today nature has become a very important economic factor. How many people will visit our national parks? People in years to come will want to have green spaces and protected rivers and glaciers. That has always been one of my concerns." Chretien established 10 national parks when he was a young cabinet minister in the 1970s. When he first ran for election as Liberal leader in 1992, he promised to complete the park system so as to inclue a representative sample of each ecological zone in the country. That promise was not fulfilled, but conservationists are optimistic that things will be different now as Chretien prepares for retirement in a time of budgetary surpluses. "It's a terrific commitment," said Monte Hummel, president of the World Wildlife Fund Canada, in an interview. "It appears to me to be a legacy-building exercise for the prime minister." Hummel said that negotiations on creating a number of parks are already well advanced, and could be announced before Chretien leaves office. He said preparations are advanced for parks in the B.C. Gulf islands; the Queen Charlotte Islands; South Moresby, B.C.; Wager Bay on the west coast of Hudson's Bay; the Torngat Mountains in Labrado, and in Western Lake Superior, the most pristine of the Great Lakes. Hummel said the completion of Canada's park system would be an achievement of global significance, and it was appropriate for Chretien to make the promise at the Johannesburg summit. "It focuses on things that Canada and Canada alone can contribute to the world."