Great Lakes Basin Update - Ontario Side
Anticipating Canada’s New Environmental Policies
By Krystyn Tully, Lake Ontario Waterkeeper
On January 23, 2006, the Conservative
Party won 124 seats in the House of
Commons, enough to oust the ruling
Liberals and form the next Government
of Canada. The election was our second
in the last two years and the outcome – a deeply stratified
Parliament with strong representation from four different
political parties – suggests that we can expect another one
before too long. In the meantime, there are two things that
Great Lakes residents need to know about Canada’s 39th
Parliament.
First, the Conservatives may be the
governing party, but they do not have
enough elected members to overrule the
opposition parties. This means the government
is unable to introduce even the most
basic changes without the opposition’s
consent, so we are unlikely to see dramatic
policy changes affecting the Great Lakes in
the short-term.
Second, the election has been an exciting
time for journalists, pollsters, and
political junkies, but not so thrilling for
environmentalists. References to clean air and clean water can
be found in every party’s written platform, but they rarely
popped up on the campaign trail. Most notably, environmental
issues were not featured in any of the four leadership debates.
The new government was not elected with any clear mandate to
change, eliminate, or expand national environmental programs.
So, without a lot of debate about air, water, or wildlife, it is hard
to say exactly what they will do.
With Conservatives in power for the first time in thirteen
years, Lake Ontario Waterkeeper thought it would be interesting
to make a few predictions about the new government’s
environmental agenda. Based on the party’s statements to the
media and written platform, we predict that the following
environmental themes (if any!) will develop in the Great Lakes
Basin this year:
Cracking Down on Cargo Sweeping
One of two oft-repeated environmental promises on the election
trail was the Conservatives’ vow to crack down on the shipping
industry. Last fall, articles in Now and This magazines drew
national attention to the rampant practice of “cargo-sweeping”–
cleaning out the holds of cargo ships and dumping the waste
directly into the Great Lakes. The shipping industry dumps
some 2,500 tons of petroleum coke, lead ore, coal and other
contaminants into the lakes each year. The Conservatives railed
against the practice throughout the campaign. Cargo-sweeping is
illegal,Waterkeeper has argued. And the Conservatives supported
this position while in opposition.It is not yet clear what enforcement
program they will introduce to curb the practice.
Abandoning Kyoto, introducing the Clean Air Act
The second oft-repeated environmental promise was the pledge
to abandon the Kyoto Accord in favour of a “home-grown” Clean
Air Act. Arguing that the Kyoto targets cannot be met, the
new Prime Minister believes “made-in-Canada” targets will be
more effective in reducing emissions of
greenhouse gases. It is not yet clear how
new targets would speed up emissions
reductions or protect the Great Lakes from
the effects of global warming.
Selling water to the world market
One Conservative member from British
Columbia commented during the
campaign that he hopes to increase sales
of water to other countries. James Lunney
suggested that water withdrawals would
have minimal impacts on ocean levels,
create jobs, and quench the thirst of an
“increasingly desperate” world. Mr. Lunney
told constituents he had yet to hear an argument to dissuade
him from the idea that Canada could develop a “good export
market” for its water, aside from “emotional rhetoric.” It is still
unknown if Mr. Lunney’s views are shared by party leaders or if
the Conservatives are interested in joining Ontario and Quebec,
as they work with the eight Great Lakes states to regulate water
use in the Great Lakes Basin. In the future, the Conservatives
hope to subject every international agreement to a vote in the
federal Parliament, a process that the Great Lakes Basin
Sustainable Water Resources Agreement did not undergo.
Beefing up property rights
Though it is highly unlikely that a fragile minority governmentwill
be able to change the Canadian Constitution in the near future,
the Conservative Party hopes to add property rights to the Charter
of Rights and Freedoms. The party also wants to pass legislation
that will compensate people who are deprived of property as a
result of government legislation or policy.This proposal harkens to
the controversial “Takings Clause” in the United States, which is
being used to strike down environmental protections unless the
government compensates landowners. If this kind of legislation is
introduced, the federal government might be forced to pay
polluters to comply with environmental laws.
Lake Ontario Waterkeeper
245 Queen’s Quay West • Toronto, ONT M5J 2K9
PH: (416) 861-1237 • E-mail: krystyn@waterkeeper.ca
Disclaimer:
The interpretations and conclusions presented in this newsletter represent the opinions of the individual authors. They in no way represent the views of the Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council, the C.S. Mott Foundation, subscribers, donors, or any organization mentioned in this publication.
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