The Sea, the Senate and Canada’s Climate Change Accountability Act
In these uncivil days we often forget that good democratic governance relies on healthy input from the opposition. The ruling Federal Conservatives have a systemic reluctance to bring Canada into compliance with its climate change obligations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the case made internally for deep reductions by the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy. They voted en masse against the 2006 version introduced by NDP Leader Jack Layton, which reached the Senate but died when the 2008 election was called. Back again in 2009 as Bill C-311 (Bruce Hyer NDP), and despite a repeat Conservative voting performance, it passed in the Commons on May 5, 2010 and is now at second reading stage in the Senate.
Everyone knows by now that mitigating climate change is a global challenge and everyone is on the line to contribute, none more so than the most carbon intensive societies, of which Canada is a leader. The Act commits Canada to cut greenhouse gas emissions 25% below 1990 levels by 2020 and 80% by 2050, and provides for instruments, penalties and targets to get the job done. Well and good.
Now it’s up to the Senate, which can effectively ‘kill bill’ with delays, which become terminal if an election is called. The composition of 51 Conservatives, 49 Liberals and 4 others certainly slows things down, and the perceived undue economic impact on Alberta is a ploy the Conservatives like to keep in play. But this is serious business. We could worry about our country’s international reputation – but at the Sierra Club we worry about the ocean.
The dangers facing the ocean by drilling for the last oil are in our face right now, but just as traumatic is the inexorable rise in ocean acidity as we continue to emit CO2, and the effects that ocean warming has on nutrient mixing, currents and oxygen levels. The biology of the ocean is not just a food source – it comprises the fundamental physiology of our planet. Attention Senators: the Act might just as well be called the Accountability for a Healthy Planet Act – such is its importance. Pass it!
Colin Campbell, PhD, trained as a palaeontologist, worked with an Australian National University research team on climate-induced sea level change in the southern hemisphere, and since 1998 has worked on forest and marine conservation issues in BC. He is Marine Campaign Coordinator and Science Advisor to the Sierra Club BC.
