Thursday, August 23, 2007

Kyoto Warm-Mongers Accept No Compromises

Bill C288, also known as the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act is a private member bill. It can not force the government to slap carbon taxes or spend billions buying useless emission credits from the third world. C288 however obliges the government to develop a "climate change plan" (which is not a plan to actually change the climate but a set of actions believed to prevent climate change from happening). It authorizes the government to use any legal measures available in order to achieve Kyoto targets and it requires any progress (or lack of thereof) to be reported to the Parliament. The first report was due in 60 days since C288 was assented into law.

The government did just that - it came up with a report within the prescribed 60 days. The report said what's already known to everyone except Kyoto fans:
... Environment Minister John Baird released a report Tuesday which reiterated the government's position that it could not honour Canada's commitments under the Kyoto Protocol without provoking a major recession at home or shipping massive amounts of money overseas with no guarantees of positive results.
The government proposes its own compromised plan; one that would consider population growth and would provide the government with more time - to make up for years of previous governments' inaction. But environmental fanatics want nothing less than Kyoto - even if it results in the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. So they are planning to sue the government for "ignoring" the new Kyoto law.

Meanwhile the opposition party leaders are looking for other legislative options. Jack Layton counts on the C30, the used-to-be Clean Air Act, which was amended by the opposition to include such measures as carbon taxes. Gilles Duceppe suggests that if Stephen Harper prorogues the Parliament (thus killing all the pending bills) the Bloc should try to vote Kyoto into the Throne Speech, making it a confidence issue.

Will Duceppe actually try that, considering that the Bloc is the only party that lost significant number of supporters since the last election? Not sure. But if Kyoto actually becomes the election issue, it may give the government the opportunity to denounce Kyoto scam once and for all.

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