Beyond The Commons

 Beyond The Commons

Aaron Wherry covers all the goings-on in and around Parliament Hill. Follow Aaron on Twitter: @aaronwherry

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by Aaron Wherry on Friday, January 7, 2011 11:11am - 18 Comments

Peter Kent casts his eyes forward.

Canada, which has committed to roughly matching U.S. efforts on fighting climate change, is watching carefully as the Obama administration rolls out new emission rules for power plants and refineries. Mr. Kent said Canada will draw up its own emission standards for petroleum refineries – including oil-sands facilities – but added there’s no schedule yet. “Our focus for the next several years is going to continue to be on maintaining the economic recovery and we will do nothing in the short term which would unnecessarily compromise or threaten to compromise that recovery,” Mr. Kent said. “It is not our intention to discourage development of one of our great natural resources. We know it can be developed responsibly.”

… The minister added that he plans to follow up a Conservative pledge to regulate pollutants by unveiling a proposal – “I hope some time this year” – for national air-quality standards based on a provincial agreement reached in 2010 by his predecessor. This would include rules for public reporting, modelling and monitoring air quality.

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  • Turning Blue

    How long is it humanly possible to hold one's breath before expiring?

  • lgarvin

    On the bright side, it looks like we're not going to be walking in lockstep with the Americans anymore. Hooray for an indepent Canadian policy position!!!

    • Jenn_

      I'm all for an independent Canadian policy position.

      But surely I'm not the only one who understands that we'd still be in lock-step with the Americans, if the Americans had continued to do nothing.

    • McC_

      we were all about made-in-Canada solutions before we were going to be in lockstep with the Americans on a Continental solution (check back to early remarks from John Baird Enviro Minister Mk1) so I guess we're still twirling, twirling! towards freedom.

      • LdKitchenersOwn

        Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos.

  • Emily

    Yet another do-nothing minister…as if we don't have enough of them already.

    • McC_

      and yet that Abacus Data survey found that respondents were "likeliest to agree the Conservative party “has a good team of leaders,” “has sensible policies,” and is “professional in its approach.” curiouser and curiouser.

  • tobyornotoby

    Unfortunately, the Environment portfolio has always been seen as a place where a minister serves his or her time and then moves onto more important work. Typical approach is to spend a year and a half getting to know the players and the issues and "listening' and then a new minister starts all over instead of picking up where the other left off. In other words it's a revolving door of sincere commitments to do something later.

    Can anyone name a great Environment Minister who had a lot of impact?

  • LaxAtlDfwYow

    We should just be relieved that the oilsands aren't in Quebec or we'd be deploying the JTF-2 to remove scrubbers from the stacks.

  • Amateur Hour

    "Mr. Kent said Canada will draw up its own emission standards for petroleum refineries – including oil-sands facilities – but added there’s no schedule yet."

    A promise made and re-made and totally unfulfilled by this Government for 5 years. And there's still "no schedule yet".

  • TimesArrow

    '…but added there’s no schedule yet'…'I hope some time this year”

    Imagine that's the bits that were highlighted in yellow for him or by him?

  • chet

    Hey Dan,

    I appreciate the smarmy condescention towards those who attempt to focus on the latent or unintended consequences of "environmentalism".

    For fun try to come up with some jazzy smarm regarding the million people who died of malaria while those who banned DDT were patting themselves on the back (and no doubt staring down their superior noses at those who tried to sound the alarm).

  • alfanerd

    Im pleased to see that based on the current Macleans poll, only 10% of Macleans readers are uninformed to the point of considering climate change "the most pressing issue for 2011".

    Pandering to eco-zealots has become a vote-losing proposition.

    The Conservatives are right to stall on this nonsense, from a political and policy perspective.

  • MostlyCivil

    Thanks for continuing to remind us how unimportant this topic really is. That blue sweater vest is almost yours!

  • LdKitchenersOwn

    I seem to recall someone calling climate change the greatest threat that humanity faces.

    Who was that again?

    Oh, right, I remember… it was Stephen Harper.

  • TJCook

    Note the subtle change of topic: unless Canada declares CO2 to be a pollutant (like the EPA did), the national air-quality standards Kent mentions will likely have nothing to do with climate change.

  • Dan

    I'm still angry at environmentalists for their work against the CFCs found in Styrofoam in the 1990s to save our alleged ozone layer. It led to McDonalds' abandonment of the McDLT which required two separate Styrofoam chambers, "to keep the hot side hot and the cool side cool."

    Reagan and Mulroney got suckered and now we are all doomed to live in a McDLT-less world because of it!

  • TJCook

    Ah, so THAT'S why alfanerd calls them/us "eco-zealots".

    He misses the McDLT.

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