Liberal Party of Canada Response

 

Yes.

Stéphane Dion has signed the KYOTOplus pledge, as have dozens of members of the Liberal Caucus. The Liberal party has committed to reducing GHG emissions in Canada to 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2020. If other industrialized countries adopt similar targets, a Liberal government will extend that target to 25 percent below 1990 levels.

 

More study needs to be done before determining the future of nuclear power in Canada. A Liberal government will appoint a blue ribbon panel to study the future of AECL in Canada. However, the federal government does not have ultimate control of the mix of energy sources in Canada. Our energy system is run largely by provincial governments and it is up to determine the mix of energy sources they use. Currently, the federal government cannot force the provincial governments to comply to any one standard.

 

Please see answer to question number 2.

 

No.

Again, it is not up to the federal government to determine when and how tar sands development will take place. The extraction of natural resources is solely a provincial responsibility, and a Liberal government would not tell the government of Alberta how to handle its affairs. That having been said, a Liberal government will not be shy about regulating pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from these projects.

 

The Liberal Party believes consumers should have meaningful, useful, and clear information related to biotechnology and food.

A Liberal government would continue to investigate complaints and provide guidance and explanations about food labelling in a regulatory context.

 

A Liberal government will create a network of at least 30 marine protected areas nationwide by 2012.

We will ensure this network is accompanied by a zoning approach to ocean management that engages interested people and communities in decisions about how to reduce risks to ocean health.

 

A Liberal government will implement a National Water Strategy using regulations, monitoring, enforcement and new investment, to clean up our waterways and keep them clean. Our infrastructure commitments will help our cities and communities to invest in much needed water-treatment to manage water demand and preserve a clean water supply. In addition, we will invest $400 million in a Canada Water Fund.

This new initiative will:

• increase monitoring and reporting of the quantity and quality of Canadian water;
• clean up our waterways, including ‘hot spots’ in the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence, and Lake Winnipeg;
• research the impact of emerging pollutants in water on human and aquatic ecosystem health;
• fight invasive species, such as the sea lamprey and zebra mussel;
• map Canada’s underground aquifers that supply our drinking water, so we know where our groundwater comes from and how it is affected by human activities; and,
• support the on-farm and community-based fresh water development programs of the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration.

 

The Liberal Party supports, in principle, the attempt to replace the 138 year old Fisheries Act, however the Conservative government did not conduct the necessary formal consultations with all individuals involved in the industry.

We feel that improvements can be made to the Fisheries Act; however a new Liberal government would ensure stakeholders are properly consulted and concerns with the current components of the legislation are heard.

 

The Conservative government has flouted the Species at Risk Act for the two and a half years. A Liberal government will rigorously enforce the science-based system for the management of species at risk that it put in place when it was in government. It will ensure that recovery strategies and action plans are quickly put into place, and the backlog of work to be done in this area is cleared as soon as possible.

 

Yes.

To protect Canada’s ecosystems in the face of climate change, pollution and over-use, a Liberal government will develop a National Ecosystem Stewardship Strategy for Canada, which will be science-based, and will respond to the increasing pressures on our natural surroundings. Our goal will be to protect a minimum of 50 per cent of Canada’s intact wilderness areas by creating interconnected networks of protected areas, and ensuring that resource development on other parts of the landscape is carried out in accordance with the highest environmental standards.

A Liberal government will make Canada an international role model for ecological conservation by establishing a network of National Parks and protected areas. This network will include new national parks to protect a representative sample of each of Canada’s 39 distinct natural landscapes, beginning in the North. We will also establish much-needed national wildlife areas, migratory bird sanctuaries, and marine conservation areas.

As we implement this strategy, we will affirm ecological integrity as an essential priority in their management, working in partnership with provincial and territorial governments. We will ensure that these networks of protected areas are planned within larger landscapes, with the involvement of interested communities, to take into account their ecological, social and economic value.

To safeguard the Canadian Boreal Forest as one of the largest intact forest and wetland ecosystems remaining on earth, we will work with the provinces and territories to implement a conservation framework that preserves at least half of the Boreal forest in protected areas, and allows only carefully managed development on the rest.

 

A Liberal government will continue to work to implement all aspects of CEPA. Now that the review of toxic substances initiated by the previous Liberal government is complete, it is time to implement regulations to properly govern their use. A Liberal government will work quickly to draft, publish, and put into force the appropriate regulations.

 

The Liberal climate change plan will not only help address climate change, it will also help clean the air we breathe; being more energy efficient and using more renewable energy sources mean we will spew less smog and pollution into our air.

In addition to our green shift initiatives, a Liberal government will pass tough National Ambient Air Quality Standards to reduce the pollutants that cause smog, haze, acid rain and other problems. These new standards will help to protect Canadians from the sources of air pollution in their regions, using health-based levels of safety for the air they breathe.

We will also help industry to upgrade their technology by making air pollution control equipment eligible for rapid tax write-offs, and implement a comprehensive Mercury Reduction Strategy, which will help to reduce the presence of this potent neurotoxin in our environment.

 

Yes.

A Liberal government will introduce a Canadian Environmental Bill of Rights to ensure transparency, accountability, and public participation in environmental decision-making. By empowering citizens with better information and tools to hold governments to account, we will better ensure that Canadians’ right to a clean environment is respected.

 

Yes.

Climate change may well be the most pressing challenge of our time. But it also presents a rare opportunity. By encouraging energy-efficient and clean technologies and practices today, Canada can be a leader in the economy of tomorrow. The Liberal Green Shift is the foundation of a national climate change plan, one that puts a price on carbon and addresses the carbon pollution that is produced by all sectors of our economy and is stored in our natural spaces.

To set a clear path for ourselves, and be taken seriously internationally, we need to establish firm targets to cut emissions in the short, medium and long term. A Liberal government will:

• respect our commitments and international obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change;
• reduce greenhouse gas emissions to at least 20 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020, and increasing this goal to at least 25 per cent if other countries make comparable efforts;
• reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 40 per cent below 1990 emission levels by 2035; and,
• reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 60 to 80 per cent below 1990 emission levels by 2050.

These targets are tough but achievable. They are also consistent with those of other leading jurisdictions. Most important, they are what scientific experts tell us is required to avert the dangers of climate change and protect human health. Inspired by that goal, a Liberal government will enact a plan to ensure that Canada reaches these targets, making Canada a world leader in global environmental citizenship.

A Liberal government will act immediately to put a price on carbon that rises to $40 per tonne of carbon emission within four years. That price will start low enough not to cause economic hardship, but will progressively increase over time, to send industry the clear message that the old ways of polluting production no longer make sense. The price will begin with our very first budget, allowing Canadian companies to start right away on the path to increasing energy efficiency and lowering emissions.

While the economy begins to adjust to a low carbon future, a Liberal government will take the time to properly design mandatory, absolute emissions caps for the largest polluting sectors--oil and gas production, utilities, and energy-intensive industries -- to ensure these companies reduce the emissions that harm our health and environment.

We will create a real carbon trading system to reward companies that reduce emissions more quickly to sell their emission credits to those who will take a little longer to reduce. This “cap- and-trade” system will harness the power of the market to fight climate change, setting an absolute limit on industrial emissions and auctioning emission permits, while letting the market decide how best to make the reductions in a cost-effective way.

Simultaneously we will help Canadian families be full partners in the greening of our economy without having to shoulder an economic burden through generous tax cuts and benefits, particularly for those in the middle and lower income tax brackets.

Corporations will also enjoy generous cuts to the taxes on their profits and receive incentives to employ green technologies and to pollute less. A case in point will be the treatment of companies in the oil sands. In recent years, these companies have received a special tax break on their investments, which was designed to take into account the risks linked to a new and untested technology to develop the oil sands. This can no longer be justified in an era where the technology is well-established, with oil worth over $100 a barrel and billions in oil profits. A Liberal government will immediately end the special tax treatment for oil sands development. However, oil companies that invest in technologies that reduce their greenhouse gas emissions will benefit from our new accelerated capital cost allowance that rewards such green investments.

 

See the responses to questions 2-3.

A blue ribbon panel to discuss a variety of issues about nuclear energy is the responsible thing to do. A Liberal government would proceed based on the experts’ recommendations.