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Canada under fire for flouting federal global warming law |
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Written by Staff
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Friday, 30 November 2007 |
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ATLANTIC FREE PRESS NETHERLANDS - Just days before
Canadian Environment Minister John Baird leaves for the UN Climate Change
Conference in Bali, Canada is facing a second legal challenge for missing
a key deadline under global warming legislation passed into law earlier
this year. The government was served late yesterday with a second
Application for Judicial Review for violating the Kyoto Protocol
Implementation Act (KPIA), the Canadian federal law that requires
reductions in greenhouse gas emissions according to the Kyoto Protocol
commitment.
The application was filed on behalf of Friends of the Earth Canada by
Chris Paliare of the firm Paliare Roland Barristers and Ecojustice
(formerly Sierra Legal). The application alleges that the federal
Minister of the Environment and the Governor in Council, consisting of
federal cabinet ministers, are ignoring the rule of law by failing to
comply with yet another requirement of the KPIA.
The federal government was legally required to publish draft regulations
by October 20, 2007 that would enable Canada to meet the requirements of
the Kyoto Protocol. By failing to do so, it is out of compliance with the
KPIA, thus triggering the second legal challenge.
"This new application, while relevant to climate change, is all
about holding the Government of Canada accountable under Canadian
law," says lawyer Chris Paliare. "Despite a clear
requirement to publish draft regulations, no action whatsoever has been
taken. Once again, we are simply asking the court to require the
government to comply with its legal obligations."
"Missing this deadline demonstrates that Canada continues to be
missing in action on global warming," says Ecojustice lawyer Hugh
Wilkins. "We cannot sit idly by while the government drags its feet
and flouts our laws. The government must be held accountable to the will
of the Canadian people and the will of Parliament."
"The Canadian Government is ignoring its obligation to uphold its
own laws, while seeking to undermine global negotiations on the defining
issue of our lives," says Friends of the Earth Canada Chief
Executive Officer Beatrice Olivastri. "Canadians must insist on
enforcement of the KPIA, our domestic law, so that we lead by action,
rather than bullying other nations."
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