The Un-Canadian Way
Canadian PM Stephen Harper
Although many people will argue that the Kyoto Protocol is outdated and not useful, Canada’s recent withdrawal is something to be concerned about. The specific logistics behind Kyoto may not be working – we really need to question its effectiveness now that it only covers 15 per cent of the total global greenhouse gas emissions – however, the underlying principle and idea of the protocol is an extremely important one. Under the Harper regime, Environment Canada has seen job cuts of nearly 1000 workers, while the tar sands of Alberta are taking priority over everything else this country stands for. The latest class-act from Mr. Harper demonstrates this quite nicely. Being the first nation to withdraw from Kyoto, the Canadian government has set itself back to a primitive mindset, one resembling that of the infamous George W. Bush during his reign of US presidency.
According to CBCNews, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May said on Tuesday that Harper and his Conservative government are actually breaking the law by withdrawing from the Kyoto Protocol:
“Not only has Canada just ended our commitments under an international treaty, I believe we are in violation of domestic law,” May told a news conference on Parliament Hill.
“The Kyoto Implementation Act was passed by the House of Commons in 2007 and has royal assent. It requires Canada to continue reporting and doing its job, fulfilling its obligations under the Kyoto Protocol,” she said. “I wonder that the prime minister of this country thinks he can withdraw us from an international treaty which was ratified by the House of Commons with no discussion in the House, and violate a domestic law with no discussion in the House.” – [CBCNews]
Michael Byers, Canada Research Chair in Global Politics at the University of B.C., told the Vancouver Observer,
“Having seen the truly terrifying scope and speed of climate change in the Arctic, I regard any delay in reducing greenhouse gas emissions as irresponsible and inexcusable.”
What is Prime Minister Harper thinking? Does he really think that withdrawing from Kyoto is going to help his already barbaric image? Stephen Harper is not doing anything to help Canadians by making these ignorant decisions. Thanks to the recent set of events (i.e., Durban and Kyoto), Canadian principles have been negated and past politicians are receiving a slap in the face from Harper through his power-hungry neglect of everything they helped our once great nation to become. These recent events dispute everything that is Canadian and I for one am blatantly embarrassed. The message being sent to the rest of the world from a country that is supposed to be a world leader in climate change and global warming prevention is that we couldn’t care less about the environment, oil is what’s important. Sound familiar, America? Although this may seem minor in the eyes of the 40% of Canadians who voted Mr. Harper into office, this is a travesty of epic proportions and is one that transforms the entire image of our country.
It is a disgrace to our past leaders, our principles, and our people as a whole. So thank you, Mr. Harper, for making us Canadians, truly un-Canadian.
Editors’ Note: Enjoy this surreal and humorous take on events watch NMA World Edition’s take on the bizarre events surrounding the withdrawal:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaiMcv2gQe0">
Absolutely fool-hardy and irresponsible. It's the lack of foresight like this I'd expect from the Chinese government, or big time companies who take precedence over money. This may be beneficial financially for a year, maybe 5 or 10, who knows, but there's no denying that we WILL have to revolutionize the way we use energy, not only in Canada, but all over the world. Delaying that is just completely counter-intuitive to long term sustainability, the pristine beauty our planet has to offer, and maybe even our fate as a species as a whole. The quicker we pull our heads out of our asses and actually try to live healthy, fulfilling lives whilst keeping our planet in check, the easier it will be. Pulling out of the Kyoto Protocol sets a horrendous example to other nations and is even worse than the ignorance many have shown throughout the talks.
I'm surprised at the lack of comments on this post. I'd like to know what people out there think of this decision from Mr. Harper. Are people with him on this or is the consensus overwhelmingly against it? This is not a time to be quiet and simply accept a governmental decision - something needs to be done and your voice needs to be heard. We need to be outraged by the outrageous and change the way this nation is run before it's too late. I would love to hear from people regarding this horrendous event in Canadian history.
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