Environment News

Good news and bad news from the government on the environment. First of all, there will be new regulations on emissions of vehicles. This is rare for the Conservatives. They are doing something helpful for the environment. Transportation uses a lot of oil and creates a lot of pollution in Canada. Not only do these rules help stop climate change, they curb smog in urban areas.


Fun fact: Jim Prentice criticized Quebec on the emissions standards. Look what he is doing now.

Environment Minister Jim Prentice, who is scheduled to make an announcement on the updated proposal at an Ottawa car dealership, stirred up controversy a few weeks later when he blasted the Quebec government for introducing its own tailpipe regulations to match California standards.

Read about it at the Vancouver Sun.


Now for the bad news. The Tories have sneaked into the budget a new rule which would allow the environment minister to decide which aspects of a project.That means that Jim Prentice can decide to only study the not-so-bad aspects of a new tar sand project. Projects funded by the economic stimulus would be exempt from being studied at all. It was horrible enough before this new rule. There probably wasn't one project that was rejected before this rule. Now, the projects will probably be praised for their "excellence." This is a measure meant to fool Canadians and it won't work. We're intelligent, Harper. People are saying that this was a complete political move as it is in the budget and the Liberals can't vote against it. Therefore, it will be passed.

OTTAWA—Environmental groups and opposition politicians say the federal Conservatives are trying to gut environmental assessment laws by sneaking in new rules in budget legislation.

“This is a big step backward about 20 years,” John Bennett of the Sierra Club said Wednesday.

Read about it at the Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail.