Peter Kent shows his true colours, and they are not green

OTTAWA -- Unfortunately, it did not take long for Canada’s new Environment Minister Peter Kent to show his true colours, as a friend of the oil industry rather than a champion of the environment.  Minister Kent, in his first few days in office, has been defending the Alberta tar sands as “ethical oil”, seemingly ignoring the immense social and environmental problems associated with the development.

“In the wake of the Dowdeswell and Royal Society of Canada reports castigating the federal government for lax regulation of the tar sands, the new Environment Minister comes out swinging, not for regulation, but for a public relations defence of polluting industry,” said Green Leader Elizabeth May. “In calling the tar sands ‘ethical’, Kent seems to be promoting Ezra Lavant's book. He should be reading departmental briefing books, not spin-doctors.”

“Kent is lining up to be Harper's most anti-climate minister.  This is extremely worrying as we need immediate leadership on the climate crisis,” said May.

The Dowdeswell report stems from the work of a scientific panel chaired by former UNEP Executive Director Elizabeth Dowdeswell and recommended a major overhaul of the monitoring of environmental effects of the Alberta tar sands.  The report can be found at http://www.ec.gc.ca/pollution/default.asp?lang=En&n=E9ABC93B-1 .  The Royal Society of Canada’s report, entitled Environmental and Health Impacts of Canada's Oil Sands Industry, can be found at http://www.rsc.ca/expertpanels_reports.php .

Ezra Levant is author of Ethical Oil: The case for Canada's oil sands, arguing that somehow Canada’s dirty oil is morally superior to oil from other countries, an argument which has been soundly rejected by experts.

-30-

Contact Information:
Debra Eindiguer
Press Secretary
Green Party of Canada
media@greenparty.ca
c: 613.240.8921
www.greenparty.ca