Harper Misses Vote Calling Canadian Government To Return To Kyoto Goals - Toronto Star

[hatrack]

OTTAWA–Prime Minister Stephen Harper missed a House of Commons vote calling on the Conservatives to recommit to the Kyoto accord and rejecting the need for the government's new piece of environmental legislation. MPs from all three opposition parties supported the Liberal motion, which passed 161-115. The outcome demonstrates the will of Parliament but does not obligate the government to follow the recommended action.

"This motion is a pathetic attempt by the Liberals to deflect criticism from their regrettable 13-year legacy of inaction on climate change," said Dimitri Soudas, a spokesperson for the Prime Minister. The Conservatives have long been opposed to the Kyoto protocol and its tough targets, though Harper appeared to have softened his vehemence in recent weeks. Under the 2002 Kyoto accord, Canada committed to a 6 per cent greenhouse gas emissions cut from 1990 levels by 2012. However, the country's emissions have risen by about 30 per cent.

In addition to the Kyoto commitment, the Liberal motion also calls for the government to establish a cap on industrial polluters and a carbon trading system and recognize that climate change "poses the most serious ecological threat of our time."

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said Harper has many responsibilities and many issues to attend to besides the vote. "He's the Prime Minister," Flaherty said. "This motion was posturing."

EDIT

http://www.thestar.com/News/article/178549

[GliderGuider]

1. Canada has become an embarrassment on the world environmental stage.

While the motion was indeed "posturing", that is what politics is all about. Those with the best posture win the next election. Harper's posture is terrible, and he mumbles.

[Javaman]

2. Harper is a tool of the oil sand corps...

If he showed his face there, he would be so screwed out of the money he's looking to make from Alberta.

harper is cut from the same fabric as moron* and dickhead.