...Even though the Conservatives have more members than any one opposition party, all the opposition parties’ MPs can gang up together on a vote and outnumber the governing party members.
That means the opposition can totally change a piece of legislation at the committee stage of a bill.
And that’s exactly what has happened with our environment legislation on greenhouse gas and pollution control, known as Bill C-30.
For instance, our intention is that all industries in Canada must reduce their emissions by 20 per cent by the year 2020.
The opposition MPs have voted in a way that will make that impossible to enforce. They want to create back-door mechanisms to allow businesses of their choosing to be exempt from meeting those deadlines.
We don’t believe that MPs should be allowed to give exemptions to their friends on environmental rules.
They also want emission levels for some companies to be uncapped so that they can go on polluting. Added to that, they voted together on committee to knock out our list of standards on a number of other pollutants which clog up our air and our lungs.
[...]
We can’t support the way our standards are being altered and reduced and are at risk when this amended legislation comes back to Parliament for a final vote (third reading).
We may be forced with the dilemma of having a piece of legislation, that we will have to vote against but which may become law if all opposition MPs support it.
But I guess that's the government line and they're going to stick to it (Baird gave a similar spiel on CBC radio about a month ago). And since Stockwell is asking his readers for advice as to how the Tories should "work through" this situation, let me offer some: look at where you were the day before your government unveiled its green regulations (on the cusp of a Majority at around 40%) and look where you are now (about 33%). What do you think caused the precipitous decline in public support? Shane Doan, or your crap green plan?
Allow C-30 to pass and you will have taken a small step in restoring the trust of the Canadian people and positioned the CPC as legitimate custodians of the nation's environment. Let it die on the order paper and you will always be seen as a regional party upholding Alberta interests.
The choice is yours.
3 comments:
actually, killing the bill will protect the Ontario economy that depends on coal for 30% of its electrical power.
Go figure, Steve Harper, protecting your sorry, pathetic liberal ass.
You bad Ontario people emitting all those GhG's just so you have wasteful air conditioning and prised automobile assembly plants.
Liberal . . just another word for hypocrite
Anon is being silly. You are correct. The Conservatives should allow the legislation to pass. It is win/win for them. If it succeeds they can take credit for agreeing to it, and if it screws the economy they can blame the opposition.
The laughable kernel to Day and Baird's blowhard lie is that their plan EXEMPTS the Big Oil Boys, you know, the welfare lovin', pump gouging companies that try to tell you their profit margins are 2%... And then they hand out annual bonuses of hundreds of millions to their ceos.
The oil companies are starting to rattle their sabres, especially at this environmental stuff and the threat that Alberta (and others) will want fair return for the royalties. These are the kind of community 'leaders' who would be happy to leave northern Alberta as a big scuzz pond where evolution may just create the next three-eyed fish, or monster from the black lagoon. Or maybe just another baboon like 'thanks for the secret cheques in support of my dictatorial leadership run' Harpor...
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