(OTTAWA) – Numbers released today show the Harper government saved only $596,000 by legally withdrawing from the Kyoto Protocol and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a move that made Canada an “environmental pariah” on the international stage, says Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party of Canada and MP (Saanich-Gulf Islands).
“Stephen Harper and the Conservative government set us back years on advancing critical climate change work when they withdrew Canada’s participation in Kyoto and the UNFCCC, ” Ms. May said. “The fact that Canada’s Parliamentary Budget Office had to take the Harper government to court in an attempt to reveal these cuts is astounding. I find it more shocking that Mr. Harper made Canada an international environmental pariah for relatively insignificant savings in the federal budget.”
Ms. May is now encouraging the Trudeau government to show Canada is serious once again about climate action.
“What matters now is what we do next. Canada’s climate target remains the abysmal one left behind by the previous government. I trust Finance Minister Bill Morneau will fulfill the Liberal campaign promise to end fossil fuel subsidies and set a minimum price on carbon in the 2016 budget,” Ms. May said.
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For more information or to arrange an interview, contact:
Daniel Palmer
Press Secretary | Attaché de presse
dan.palmer@greenparty.ca
(613) 614-4916