More Than Just Hot Air

Last Thursday our government unveiled the centerpiece of our environmental agenda the Clean Air Act. Despite the ensuing rhetoric from the opposition and other groups, a close examination of the legislation will show that concrete measures are being taken to improve the air we breath and affect meaningful climate change. Ultimately its success or failure will depend on the commitment of Canadian industry and families. We all must take responsibility to care for and protect our climate.

Our community has already taken proactive measures to ensure better air quality. We have set the pace for implementing sustainable and effective technologies and are an example to other cities across Canada. The federal government recently acknowledged this fact by sending Kelowna's Environment Manager Mark Watt to Mexico City to showcase some of our environmentally sustainable technology. We can be proud of initiatives such as the Mayor's Environmental Expo, Ogo Gro, our Smart Transit Plan and the electricity generation taken from the methane produced by our city's landfill. These are just a few of the many ways that we as individuals and local communities can take part in reducing Canada's impact on our environment.

There are many things to celebrate in this legislation which are not receiving media attention. Our government is committed to consumer-driven energy efficiencies and alternative fuels. We will be providing tax incentives in the future to reduce the cost of low emission and hybrid vehicles. We have already made a commitment to increase the minimum level of ethanol from 1% to 5% by 2010. This in addition to our existing promises for infrastructure to improve transit and our transit user tax credit. All parts of the first ever comprehensive Canadian environmental strategy.

The vast majority of media coverage has instead focused on the deadlines imposed by this legislation, most specifically the targets of cutting
2003 greenhouse gas levels by 45% to 65% by 2050 and bringing into force legislated caps on emissions from cars by 2010. There has been much criticism of these goals under the assumption that no action will be taken until these years are closer. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

While we fully understand that industry participation is the only way we will meet our targets our Conservative government is not content to allow industries to self-regulate their progress. The Clean Air Act makes a significant change to the regulatory process. In short it gives complete regulatory power over all industries to the Environment Minister. So now when Rona Ambrose sits down with the heads of the major green house gas emitters she will have their complete and undivided attention because she has the regulatory authority to set the targets.

So after the Environment Minister has consulted with industry leaders over the next four months we will lay out our short term targets.

What is clear is that businesses today know what will be expected of them in the future. Thus they will be motivated to purchase environmentally sustainable technologies today to spread the cost of those technologies over as many years as possible. In this way our government is ensuring immediate and continuous action on the environment while doing so in a responsible way to ensure our policies don't adversely affect Canadian industry and consequentially Canadian workers.

Therefore I hope that you can look at the details of this legislation and see it for the precedent setting and comprehensive plan that it is.
Kyoto was important for putting climate change at the forefront of national politics but the targets were unrealistic. For the first time the government of Canada has outlined a regulatory framework that is both achievable and realistic in its expectation.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.