Kent vows to polish Canada's environmental image

Environment Minister Peter Kent discusses the political challenges he faces with his promotion to environment minister. He also discusses why he thinks the Conservative government will gain voters in Toronto.

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Environment Minister Peter Kent appears on CTV's Question Period, Sunday, Jan. 9, 2011.

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CTV.ca News Staff

Date: Sun. Jan. 9 2011 6:40 PM ET

Newly appointed Environment Minister Peter Kent says Canada has been taking it on the chin over environmental issues unfairly, but nevertheless will introduce new regulations aimed at beefing up the country's response to climate change.

Kent told CTV's Question Period Sunday that Alberta's controversial oilsands developments have been the target of "slander and disinformation and outright lies from some quarters."

"I'm not going to stand by while outsiders slander Canada, Canadian practices and values and our ethical oil products."

Kent, a former broadcaster who was elevated to Cabinet in a shuffle last week by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, said he believes Canada is on track to meet its target of a 17 per cent reduction in emissions by 2020.

But that goal has little to do with the oilsands, he said.

"Emissions from the Alberta oilsands are a small fraction of the total Canadian greenhouse gas emissions," Kent said, pointing out that vehicles and coal-fired electrical generating plants contribute far more.

But Kent said the government "has a plan" for reducing Canada's carbon footprint.

"I will be bringing down regulations in the next little while across our climate change mitigation plan that will involve better practices," Kent said. "We can do better."

Kent said he will move forward with a scientific panel's call for more monitoring and regulation of the environmental impact of the oilsands.

But he hopes in the meantime to do better at improving the project's image.

"The industry has done better. In the last 20 years for example the amount of greenhouse gas emission from production of a single barrel of oil has been reduced by 39 per cent," Kent said. "(And) that can be reduced more."

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Jim
said

The conservatives have only tarnished Canada's image & that's all we can expect from any of Harper's conservatives.

Prof. Pye Chartt
said

@ RGBrook: Our governmental system is that of a parliamentary democracy, my friend, not an oppositional dictatorship. Kindly consider what that means. Thanks.

lc
said

Prof PyeRoyal Society of Canada study has been labeled rubbish [since they based their conclusions on data from the feds].by those who actually study the data and not oil industry inventions.Garbage in garbage out.You constantly berate others for partisan dribble when you are a expert on the tactic.Sure hope Prof is not your true occupation for the sake of young impressionable minds!

Will
said

I see a couple of voices of reason here, and some real nutbars. I support dealing with pollution, not the myth of global warming/climate change. I support rational steps taken to reduce our collective garbage output inclusing recycling - and I don't mean the limited blue box program that doesn't work worth a tinkers damn. I support renewable energy generation including micro-hydro, run of river, wind & solar as well as geothermal and nuclear over fossil fuel generation projects. I support agriculture including small scale local and urban systems. I support housing initiatives that address actual needs of people not knee jerk utopian densification nonsense. I support many things that the eco-nuts are against in their quest to destroy the human race and turn us into a collective fossil collection. This government recognises that none of these things can happen without public support or maintaining a sustainable economy, somehting the Libera/NDP factions and their eco-nut buddies like Suzuki are against. What is needed in the debate is a strong dose of reality, maybe some of the nutbars need to come off the dole and actually have to contribute/work for a change. There are lots of jobs going begging - apparently too many on the dole think they are too good for the work...?

RGBrook
said

Wowswer!Prof. Pye Chartt has added more Conservative Propaganda for you all to either absorb and fight with or spew out and hope for a Gravol injection!First off Professor of "nothing", kill the name calling because it tends to come back at yah. Secondly, I doubt that the Royal Society of Canada used the terms "crusading lefties and the media". What they concluded (in your quote) is but of a regional concern towards nearby communities. "Canada" is much more than a "nearby community" (we're a country with global responsibilities). So the oilsands aren't the "most" harmful industry by ranking 4th in air pollutants. So how does it work for you and Harper's pals? If you're not in the top three it's OK to pollute? Good god man. Polluting is polluting. Your conservative way of prioritizing things is why the world justifiably recognizes Canada as a failure in the environmental regard. I wear the Maple Leaf proudly and with right of mind. Too bad about you!

roy
said

I would just like to point out that the environment is everyones problem and not just the governments and maybe all you negative gov basher should look at your own actions.You all probably shop at Wall-mart who are the biggest polluters of our environmen by bringing all their merchandise from China and polluting all the air in between by doing so

Dave in Qc.
said

This guy and the Cons doing something on the environment are as believable as the leafs winning the cup this year.All he talks about is improving our image.Why don't you just bring in some proper regulations and enforce them.Your reduction goals will actually see an increase in emission levels by 2020.Non Partisan non political give me a break these guys don't go to the can without putting a spin on it or getting permission from dinosaur Harper and of course they send there interns and hacks to rant on here.

Doug # BC
said

I could be wrong,but I think the term "ethical oil" is the title of a book by Ezra Levant.I watched him debate with Elizabeth May,and quite honestly I think he won the day.In a very round about way Elizabeth had to admit that,if we had to use oil at all,and ethics were a part of where we get oil,the oils sands are among the most ethical of the sources available. People in BC might also want to know that she also admitted that a pipeline to the coast of BC is something she "could" support,as long as it was built to the highest standards.Now I must concede that she looked uncomfortable making those statements.She could not find a way to step back from the idea,and still maintain that the Green Party has a viable economic policy, and is not in bed with American interests. Rhetoric folks.Like it or now we are going to get lots of it.From a government,it is always a part of any negotiations.No Canadian government is going to publicy state that it's goal is to sell make Canada less dependent on the USA,by selling Alberta oil on the open market.No left wing eco group is going to say how much wealth is at stake in the oil sands,and how much we would lose by not exploiting the resource,.Nor do they have a plan to grow the ecomony without the use of resources.We do need to use resources to grow this economy.We can't compete well enough in manufacturing industries.Though I continue to believe we must work towards a day when we can.So,instead about complaining about the exporting of resources,we should find ways to use them here,and sell products we make with those resources.Until we do,we are prisoners of the US market place.,

Linda in Vancouver
said

Yes JayRos.It is just you.You and a bunch of left wing losers who don't get the fact that this environmental policy and the economy are not just linked,but are totally joined at the hips.I am quite sure that's exactly why Dion lost his bid to become PM.The people of Canada started to see just how much his policies would cost,and were not impressed with the Liberal record on this issue either.They simply could not get people to believe the economic costs would not be difficult to manage.Clever voters figured out that if that was the case,the Liberals would have presented an implemetation policy before they signed the Kyoto Accord,and while they had a majority government. Look deeper JayRos.Oil sand developement is about national security.But only if Canada can sell it to whoever we want to.The Liberals you love to love are in bed with the USA to keep Alberta oil land locked,and thus available only to the USA markets.Canada is already divided on the use of the oil sands.Conservatives want to sell it on the world market.Liberals are using eco terrorist groups from the USA to make sure that does not happen.After all,America benefits if only they have access to that oil. The real question is not "should we profit from that oil",but "how can we build a better Canada with all that money".What we need to be telling our leaders is the money must be used to build other industries in Canada,so that our chlldren will still have jobs when the oil is gone.But the amount of wealth in Alberta is simply to great to be ignored.Shut it down,and tens of thousand of jobs go out the window,we are still mired in debt, and our taxes continue to rise.

Allan Eizinas
said

With Peter Kent we certainly have the right guy for the job. His time in front of the cameras has shown him that if you put enough make-up on somebody, get the right camera angles and the proper lighting that anybody can be made to look good. Go for it Peter. Put lots of lipstick on the environmental policy pig and see if you can get Canadians to accept it as a reincarnation of Shirley Temple. But do not be surprised when you walk into the UN with that porker under your arm that you are laughed out of the chamber by the rest of the world.

Spencer Coles
said

I�m sorry but I just don�t like Kent. I just don�t trust him. I will never vote conservative as long as Kent and that other #@$% Ontario top cop is in the party. The party is getting more like a biker gang every day. Notice the words� to polish Canada's environmental image�. In other words, change the wrapping but keep the contents intact.

SuperSkeptic
said

It's just another way to rip us all off. The message is good, but it just amounts to another way to push us all down.

goldens
said

It is about time someone stood up for Canada and then got on to the real environmental problems. The real environmental problem in Canada is that we are using our water ways for a sewage dump. Taking phosphate out of soap is not the answer. Towns cities and villages have got to stop dumping sewage into our watercourse. The town of Bridgetown NS almost has the right answer. They dump their sewage alternating between two lagoons,but then go wrong by chlorination the effluent and dumping that effluent into the river. The right approach would be to dump the effluent into a very shallow lagoon filled with aquatic plants to scrub the sewage of pharmacal residues such as the birth control pill and then from there onto a flat piece of land seeded to reed canary grass or similar plant species to further filter the effluent before entering into the water system. No chlorine needs to be applied. Then Salmon and other fish, whales and aquatic animals would love it, a step in restoring life to our rivers. They can put the phosphate back into soap and I can get my cloths clean. They could do something similar with oilsand disposal ponds but there the effluent should go into huge storage tanks and the oil shimmed off and recovered before the effluent is dumped into the lagoon.

Melanie Terrace,BC
said

I don't really care about image.I care about results.Liberals whining about Harper and our image may have a point.But when it comes to results,I don't see them as having any moral high ground to stand on.They signed the Kyoto Accord long before Harper became PM,and they did nothing to reduce green house gas emissions in Canada.Now they complain about Harper.Are you kidding me? Sure.By all means lets start generating more AFFORDABLE clean energy.But we don't need image or a phony international treaty to do that.Never again should Canada sign a treaty like the one those fools signed in Kyoto.We can work for cleaner energy,but we must wait until all major polluters agree to participate before we comit to another crappy deal that impacts our economy,but not that of the major polluters.The moral high ground is useless if we're all living in poverty while other nations carry on as usual. 2% of global GHG's.That's what Canada produces..It's absurd to spend everything for 2%,while Asian nations continue to grow their economies,and their emissions by more than 2% almost every week.

donmarboy
said

Image? You want respect, do something meaningful. The guy is a robot.

Clarence
said

The only thing that clown will polish is his hair and his shoes and even then he'll hire someone to do it and send the bill to the taxpayers. What a bad choice!

Marg in Calgary
said

What's he doing about protecting endangered specifies, putting limits on logging, preserving parks, adding new ones, etc.? Those are also part of the environment.

Yukon Bill
said

You can polish up a turd but it's still a turd. It will take more than Turtle Wax and elbow grease to bring our environmental policies up to an acceptable standard. It will take teeth.

RGBrook
said

I'm one of those people who believe that Canada's track record on the environment falls well short of what we know should be done, and what we are capable of doing to reduce this country's carbon footprint. I guess that makes me one of those "hypocritical left-wingers" mentioned by Prof. Pye Chartt. Sorry, but I cannot believe that this government (or any other for that matter) is without its mistakes. Just because the Conservatives are in power doesn't make them 100 percent perfect at everything, and if they can sell Canadians crap about auto emissions being the problem to Canadians, then I think there's more fools in this country than I realized (at least enough to elect a minority government). As Canadians we can all recycle, re-use, drive smaller cars less often and everything else required of us to help the environment, and still we'll be told that we aren't doing enough, while big industry laughingly continues to destroy what's left with the blessing of the Conservatives. I could care less about the "morals" of the UN. I care about this country doing what's right, and doing it now. But by all means Mr. Kent, ignore everything a non-conservative says, because you're party is always right, and the rest of the country is always wrong. Right Prof. Pye Chartt?

Sam
said

Anybody who has a point of view that differs with mine must be brainwashed. It matters not that my position may be uninformed, unread, and the result of over-exposure to sound bite technology. Isn't that right Norm in Ottawa? I often wonder what they put in your drinking water.

Prof. Pye Chartt
said

@ The Nattering Partisan Nabobs: Just a few short weeks ago, a report published by the unbiased and scientifically reputable Royal Society of Canada indicated that Alberta's oilsands don't deserve the "toxic environmental reputation" that has been bestowed by crusading lefties and the media. It concluded that there was "no credible evidence" that oilsands projects pollute the air, contaminate water supplies, or cause health problems in nearby communities. The Society also said that...the oilsands aren't even the most environmentally harmful industry in Canada...they rank fourth in air pollutants in Canada...fifth for toxic emissions of mercury...sixth for cadmium...ninth for lead, as well as for four carcinogenic compounds...oilsands production would have to quintuple for the industry to become the biggest industrial polluters in Canada, let alone the world. As well, Alberta's oilsands are a relatively small contributor to Canada's greenhouse gas emissions. Importantly, however, the peer-reviewed study also indicated that the provincial and federal governments inadequately monitor the oilsands' potential environmental impacts and come up short in addressing future project problems. The Conservative government in Ottawa is acting responsibly to address this standing issue. As misinformed officials in certain countries have cast aspersions on our industry, our Environment Minister is also, understandably, trying to set the Canadian record straight and educate the assorted myth propagators. Quit whining and complaining, and get hip to the truth. Thanks.

Doug # BC
said

I'm inclined to agree with a lot of that "Prof. Pye Chart" had to say.Except I'd add that more needs to be done,and,when Canada's strategy can be explained,more should be done to do so. If memory serves me correctly,the Kyoto Accord was signed in 1997.So, aside from negotiating a very bad deal on Canada's behalf,I am wondering what the Liberal Party did in this file during their reign of terror.Did they not have the majority they needed to do whatever they felt was right?Could it be that they signed a deal not having a clue how they would live up to it,and promtly ignored that deal? While not able to speak for the rest of the country,in BC we are seeing more spent of clean power generation.From afar,it looks like that is going on in Atlantic Canada,and Ontario has been taliking about shutting down coal fired energy generation.To say it is "nothing" is simply a lie We can make progress without some nebulous international or national treaty.I believe this is the right thing to do.At least until the nations that contribute the most to pollution get on board with similar goals.After all,it is "total" CO2 emmissions that are causing climate change.NOT "per capita" emmissions. Harper is playing hardball in negotiating this..It's to bad the Liberals did not do that at Kyoto.If they had,perhaps the really big polluters would be on the team.When they do sign on, CO2 emmissions will be far less than even the elimination of ALL emmissions in Canada.That, no matter which party sits in government here. BTW.Be very careful.Recently there are credible news reports that the left wing people who are pushing the oils sands protests,are being paid for,in US dollars,and advocating for policy that benefits the USA.Not Canada.

Prof Dis Gusted
said

Actions speak louder than words Mr. Kent. Your rhetoric won't cut it. Your attempt to minimize the impact of continued use of fossil fuels in this country won't cut it. Your defense of the Tar Sands won't cut it. Your Government's refusal to honour Canada's Kyoto commitments won't cut it. Your Government's intransigence in holding up international negotiations on the successor to Kyoto won't cut it. Your refusal to more in this country to cut CO2 emissions other than the paltry things you mention are disgraceful. This country needs some real leadership at the federal level including a comprehensive national CO2 action plan. If you do that you will be a hero. If you don't you are just another politician flapping his gums. And before you use that line about following the U.S. lead on CO2 controls you should take a hard look at the U.S. record in ratifying international environmental accords. It is abysmal. Canada needs to set a 'Made in Canada' climate change control and mitigation strategy - one that we can be proud of and sell internationally, not one that defends the status quo and big oil interests. Perhaps you should have spent some time in your new department getting briefed up on the facts before you started making all these vacuous public statements.

Norm, Ottawa
said

I want one of the brain-washing jobs where your task is to sit around and come up with Orwellian phrases like "ethical oil". Where do I apply? I bet someone got a bonus for that doozy.

JayRos
said

Is it just me, or should an Environment Minister's primary concern be the ENVIRONMENT, and not to try to bolster an Industry? Especially not to bolster an Industry by pandering to the public with cheap and false arguments such as "ethical oilsands".How many Environment Ministers have we had in the past 5 years or so? The Harper gov't should be commended on it's ability to divert attention from actual issues, and to be divisive. Way to go.

James
said

Well I'm glad he's saying that he will bring in tougher measures. Maybe this environment minister actually gets it, because he says we can do better. Maybe he gets it, but still, I won't hold my breath.

Gareth Hitchings
said

"I will be bringing down regulations in the next little while" - The Harper Tories have been saying that since 2006. They must think we're all idiots. For the sake of future generations lets hope they're wrong.

Prof. Pye Chartt
said

Smart. Rational. Intelligent. Respecting of science and economics, and with disregard for misinformation, ignorance, partisan agenda, and political propaganda. But, of course, Environment Minister Kent's efforts will fall far short in the eyes of the hypocritical left-wing who value the "morals" of the U.N. only when it suits their particular position, whether the issue has to do with the environment, human rights, foreign aid, nuclear weaponry, or terrorism. Press the "IGNORE" button, Minister Kent.

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