Green Party condemns Canadian Government for having its eye on oil sand profit not wellbeing of the population.
Canada shows a profound lack of commitment to halting climate change.
Thanks to Canada's controversial withdrawal from Kyoto agreement the world is left struggling to avoid dangerous anthropogenic change to the climate. It seems the lure of profit from its booming oil sands sector (Canada has the world's third-largest oil reserves) seemed too tempting to refuse.
At Durban Canada's Environment Minister Peter Kent did not hesitate to put profit before people and commit Canada to an isolationist position saying:
"To meet the targets under Kyoto for 2012 would be the equivalent of either removing every car, truck, ATV, tractor, ambulance, police car and vehicle of every kind from Canadian roads or closing down the entire farming and agriculture sector and cutting heat to every home, office, hospital, factory and building in Canada,"
However this view is nonsensical and factually incorrect. Green Party Deputy Leader Adrian Ramsay condemns this stance:
"The world's richest countries, including Canada, must lead by example in taking practical steps to substantially reduce carbon emissions and avoid the worst effect of climate change. But this is also an opportunity for countries such as Canada and the UK to create more stable, more localised, low-carbon economies for the future. This is the long term thinking we need to address the climate crisis and the economic crisis at the same time - and avoid the huge financial, social and economic costs of runaway climate change."
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