(Edmonton Journal)
Surprise environmental election promise puts federal Tories on collision course with Alberta jurisdiction, NAFTA rules
Prime Minister Stephen Harper made an election promise Friday to restrict the export of raw bitumen to countries with weaker environmental standards than Canada — a pledge that took the Alberta government by surprise.
Harper promised to halt the flow of bitumen, the tar-like heavy hydro-carbon that is removed from Alberta’s oilsands and upgraded into synthetic crude oil, to countries with weaker greenhouse gas emission reduction standards than Canada.
Harper said the measures would keep the oilpatch from skirting Canadian emission targets by exporting bitumen, while keeping oilsands revenues and jobs in Canada.
The announcement rankled the Alberta government and raised several constitutional questions about which level of government has authority over the oilsands.
Alberta’s resources are owned by the province, but analysts argue that Ottawa has full constitutional authority over exports, while environmental regulations are shared between the governments. Harper and Premier Ed Stelmach each have maintained their environmental regulations will trump those introduced by the other government.
But the federal Tory leader served notice again Friday that Ottawa has the authority to dictate the environmental regulations, and that he expects all provinces to “accept federal targets.”
Harper also insisted the federal government holds the trump card on trade, and can pull “two or three constitutional levers” in case of a fight with the province over who has authority over the oilsands. Read the complete article.
Showing posts with label Canadian Election. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Canadian Election. Show all posts
Saturday, September 27, 2008
B.C. Premier, Emerson Slam NDP for Promise to Negotiate New Softwood Deal
(Globe & Mail)
NDP Leader Jack Layton was roundly criticized Friday for proposing to tear up the Canada-U.S. softwood lumber agreement, with both B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell and former international trade minister David Emerson saying the idea is preposterous.
The B.C. Premier waded into the federal election campaign for the first time Friday, denouncing Mr. Layton’s stance on softwood. The deal, Mr. Campbell said, has been a lifeline for the hard-hit B.C. forest sector.
“You want to rip up the softwood lumber agreement? Give your head a shake,” Mr. Campbell said in a speech to municipal leaders in Penticton.
Mr. Campbell later acknowledged to reporters that Mr. Layton was the target of his comments
“I think Mr. Layton has shown a profound ignorance, both of the agreement and the impact his statements will have on British Columbia,” Mr. Campbell told reporters. “It would be significantly damaging to British Columbians ... that’s going to cause huge job losses at a time when forestry can’t afford any more challenges.”
Mr. Layton this week promised he would scrap the “sellout” deal, negotiate new lumber deals with the U.S., and restrict raw log exports to encourage local development. He says the deal needs to be reassessed because of mill closures and job losses in the industry despite the deal.
In an interview Friday, Mr. Emerson forecast permanent mill closures and job cuts if Mr. Layton was ever able to act on that idea, adding Canada would “get creamed in a negotiation today on softwood lumber.”
“What is [Mr. Layton] going to put on the table that is going to force the Americans, incent the Americans to come up with a better deal than we have today?” asked Mr. Emerson.
“What is it he’s going to give them? He may have some brilliant idea that has passed me by.”
Mr. Emerson said he expected Canada would end up with an inferior agreement if it took another shot at negotiating one. Read more here.
NDP Leader Jack Layton was roundly criticized Friday for proposing to tear up the Canada-U.S. softwood lumber agreement, with both B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell and former international trade minister David Emerson saying the idea is preposterous.
The B.C. Premier waded into the federal election campaign for the first time Friday, denouncing Mr. Layton’s stance on softwood. The deal, Mr. Campbell said, has been a lifeline for the hard-hit B.C. forest sector.
“You want to rip up the softwood lumber agreement? Give your head a shake,” Mr. Campbell said in a speech to municipal leaders in Penticton.
Mr. Campbell later acknowledged to reporters that Mr. Layton was the target of his comments
“I think Mr. Layton has shown a profound ignorance, both of the agreement and the impact his statements will have on British Columbia,” Mr. Campbell told reporters. “It would be significantly damaging to British Columbians ... that’s going to cause huge job losses at a time when forestry can’t afford any more challenges.”
Mr. Layton this week promised he would scrap the “sellout” deal, negotiate new lumber deals with the U.S., and restrict raw log exports to encourage local development. He says the deal needs to be reassessed because of mill closures and job losses in the industry despite the deal.
In an interview Friday, Mr. Emerson forecast permanent mill closures and job cuts if Mr. Layton was ever able to act on that idea, adding Canada would “get creamed in a negotiation today on softwood lumber.”
“What is [Mr. Layton] going to put on the table that is going to force the Americans, incent the Americans to come up with a better deal than we have today?” asked Mr. Emerson.
“What is it he’s going to give them? He may have some brilliant idea that has passed me by.”
Mr. Emerson said he expected Canada would end up with an inferior agreement if it took another shot at negotiating one. Read more here.
Conservatives Go it Alone on Free Trade with Colombia
(Dawn Paley — The Dominion)
The Conservative candidate for Vancouver-Centre confirmed Thursday that his party is alone among the four major parties battling it out in Western Canada that supports a free trade agreement between Canada and Colombia.
Trade hasn’t been on the front burner during this campaign, unlike in the US where it is a hot issue. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has stated his opposition to a US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, while Republican John McCain supports the deal.
Conservative hopeful Lorne Mayencourt said that the Canada-Colombia deal was negotiated in a way that is “beneficial to both countries,” and that free trade agreements “can lead to democracies that are really quite good.”
Mayencourt’s position differs from that of the other candidates, who rejected the deal in a morning debate at the University of British Columbia on Thursday.
“I’m not saying we shouldn’t trade with Colombia at all, I’m saying we need to look at the terms and the conditions of the negotiation that Mr. Emerson did with Colombia,” said Hedy Fry, the Liberal incumbent in Vancouver-Centre, echoing her party’s position on the deal.
Though the Liberals do not specifically mention the Canada-Colombia agreement in their platform, Liberal leader Stéphane Dion spoke against the deal earlier this week.
“The way it was negotiated by the Conservatives we have no guarantee at all that the basic rights will be respected through this agreement, the workers rights, and so on. It [sic] is why we can not accept it,” he said, speaking Tuesday night at the University of British Colombia.
“A free trade agreement between Canada and Colombia would lead to more displacement, more threats and more violence against unionists, Afro-Colombians and Indigenous peoples,” said George Heyman, past president of the BC Government and Service Employees’ Union, who visited Colombia with other Canadian union leaders in July.
The NDP has taken a strong stance against the deal, responding in part to concerns from the Canadian labour movement. Thirty-eight trade unionists have been killed in Colombia this year alone.
“There are some very serious human rights and labour rights issues in Colombia. The Colombian agreement was done without a view to those important concerns, and it should be renounced,” said Michael Byers, a UBC professor and rookie NDP candidate. Read the complete article.
The Conservative candidate for Vancouver-Centre confirmed Thursday that his party is alone among the four major parties battling it out in Western Canada that supports a free trade agreement between Canada and Colombia.
Trade hasn’t been on the front burner during this campaign, unlike in the US where it is a hot issue. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has stated his opposition to a US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, while Republican John McCain supports the deal.
Conservative hopeful Lorne Mayencourt said that the Canada-Colombia deal was negotiated in a way that is “beneficial to both countries,” and that free trade agreements “can lead to democracies that are really quite good.”
Mayencourt’s position differs from that of the other candidates, who rejected the deal in a morning debate at the University of British Columbia on Thursday.
“I’m not saying we shouldn’t trade with Colombia at all, I’m saying we need to look at the terms and the conditions of the negotiation that Mr. Emerson did with Colombia,” said Hedy Fry, the Liberal incumbent in Vancouver-Centre, echoing her party’s position on the deal.
Though the Liberals do not specifically mention the Canada-Colombia agreement in their platform, Liberal leader Stéphane Dion spoke against the deal earlier this week.
“The way it was negotiated by the Conservatives we have no guarantee at all that the basic rights will be respected through this agreement, the workers rights, and so on. It [sic] is why we can not accept it,” he said, speaking Tuesday night at the University of British Colombia.
“A free trade agreement between Canada and Colombia would lead to more displacement, more threats and more violence against unionists, Afro-Colombians and Indigenous peoples,” said George Heyman, past president of the BC Government and Service Employees’ Union, who visited Colombia with other Canadian union leaders in July.
The NDP has taken a strong stance against the deal, responding in part to concerns from the Canadian labour movement. Thirty-eight trade unionists have been killed in Colombia this year alone.
“There are some very serious human rights and labour rights issues in Colombia. The Colombian agreement was done without a view to those important concerns, and it should be renounced,” said Michael Byers, a UBC professor and rookie NDP candidate. Read the complete article.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Canadian Truckers Oppose Carbon Tax
(Employment Crossing News • Global TV)
A nationwide carbon tax proposed by the Liberal Party of Canada is strongly opposed by the transportation industry, farmers and fishermen. Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper has called the plan “crazy” given the current downturn in the economy.
The Green Shift, an environmental and economic policy strongly backed by federal Liberal leader Stéphane Dion, is a key policy plank for the Liberal Party in the upcoming October national election.
The trucking industry claims the carbon tax, which affects industries that burn oil-based fuels for transportation, will spur the loss of tens of thousands of jobs.
Liberals have offered an olive branch to the plan’s opponents — $900 million in tax breaks to farmers, fishermen and truckers. They have also proposed a $250-million fund for fisheries and transportation firms to help deal with the impact of the proposed carbon tax.
A nationwide carbon tax proposed by the Liberal Party of Canada is strongly opposed by the transportation industry, farmers and fishermen. Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper has called the plan “crazy” given the current downturn in the economy.
The Green Shift, an environmental and economic policy strongly backed by federal Liberal leader Stéphane Dion, is a key policy plank for the Liberal Party in the upcoming October national election.
The trucking industry claims the carbon tax, which affects industries that burn oil-based fuels for transportation, will spur the loss of tens of thousands of jobs.
Liberals have offered an olive branch to the plan’s opponents — $900 million in tax breaks to farmers, fishermen and truckers. They have also proposed a $250-million fund for fisheries and transportation firms to help deal with the impact of the proposed carbon tax.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Dion Pledges $50M to Bolster Food Inspection Agency
(CBC News)
A Liberal government will invest an additional $50 million to build a more robust food inspection system in Canada in the wake of a listeriosis outbreak across the country, Stéphane Dion said Wednesday.
The boost in funding will allow the hiring of 100 additional Canadian Food Inspection Agency inspectors, an eight per cent increase of those working “on the ground,” he said during a campaign stop in Walkerton, Ont., for the October 14 federal election. “Canadians have been alarmed by recent revelations about unsafe food making it to our store shelves,” Dion said.
The Liberal leader added that Walkerton, where seven people lost their lives in 2000 during an E. coli outbreak in the community’s water supply, served as a tragic reminder to all parties. “A government cannot cut corners when it comes time to protecting the health and safety of Canadians for the sake of so-called efficiencies,” he said.
The listeriosis outbreak has killed 14 people across Canada and been linked to tainted meat products processed at a Maple Leaf Foods plant in Toronto. Conservative Leader Stephen Harper has promised an investigation into the outbreak. Maple Leaf has said the most likely cause of the outbreak was bacteria embedded deep inside meat slicing equipment at the plant.
Critics have increasingly voiced their concerns over the Conservatives’ plans for food inspection reform, while opposition members have accused the Tories of downloading responsibility for food inspection onto the industry. But Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz has said the federal inspectors in charge of overseeing health standards at the plant were doing their job properly.
A Liberal government will invest an additional $50 million to build a more robust food inspection system in Canada in the wake of a listeriosis outbreak across the country, Stéphane Dion said Wednesday.
The boost in funding will allow the hiring of 100 additional Canadian Food Inspection Agency inspectors, an eight per cent increase of those working “on the ground,” he said during a campaign stop in Walkerton, Ont., for the October 14 federal election. “Canadians have been alarmed by recent revelations about unsafe food making it to our store shelves,” Dion said.
The Liberal leader added that Walkerton, where seven people lost their lives in 2000 during an E. coli outbreak in the community’s water supply, served as a tragic reminder to all parties. “A government cannot cut corners when it comes time to protecting the health and safety of Canadians for the sake of so-called efficiencies,” he said.
The listeriosis outbreak has killed 14 people across Canada and been linked to tainted meat products processed at a Maple Leaf Foods plant in Toronto. Conservative Leader Stephen Harper has promised an investigation into the outbreak. Maple Leaf has said the most likely cause of the outbreak was bacteria embedded deep inside meat slicing equipment at the plant.
Critics have increasingly voiced their concerns over the Conservatives’ plans for food inspection reform, while opposition members have accused the Tories of downloading responsibility for food inspection onto the industry. But Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz has said the federal inspectors in charge of overseeing health standards at the plant were doing their job properly.
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