Liberals Need to ‘Do Better’

OTTAWA--The Green Party laments the extension of committee hearings into Bill C-311, the Climate Change Accountability Act, and calls on all parties to speed passage of the bill in advance of international climate negotiations in Copenhagen later this year, where the successor treaty to the Kyoto Accord will be negotiated.

The bill was introduced by NDP member Bruce Hyer and is identical to a bill introduced by NDP leader Jack Layton last year. That version passed 3rd reading in the House of Commons, but died in the Senate when Prime Minister Harper called an election in September of 2008.

“Bill C-311 calls on Canada to do what Canadian negotiators already promised to strive for in Bali two years ago. It shouldn't be controversial. The Government is trying to shirk from its international obligations again, and unfortunately, many of the Liberal opposition members are not helping to fix it.” said Green Party of Canada Climate Change Critic Adriana Mugnatto-Hamu.

Green Party leader Elizabeth May emphasized the need for Canada to have a strong national commitment to doing its part when it sends a delegation to Copenhagen. “We need that bill to send a message to the rest of the world about how Canadians really feel about our global responsibilities,” she said. “Liberal MPs who voted to postpone passage of this bill should be ashamed of themselves. The Liberal Party has already passed this bill last year. If anything, the situation is far more critical today. There is no reason for this additional delay”.

As recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Bill C-311 sets Canada’s target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at 80 per cent by 2050, with 1990 serving as the base year. “We are now going into the most important international climate negotiations without any meaningful targets and without any sort of action plan.  Our grandchildren will not forgive us for this terrible lack of foresight,” said Mugnatto-Hamu.

A handful of Liberal members voted against the delay, along with the NDP and Bloc Quebecois members. Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff was absent for the vote, as was Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Committee hearings into Bill C-311 have now been extended for 30 days. The Copenhagen negotiations begin on the 7th of December.

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