- The Liberals plan to boost the use of wind energy under a three-part plan
- Boost the number of wind power projects under the Wind Power Production Incentive (WPPI) from its current 1,000 megawatts to a target of 4,000 megawatts; promote the benefits and cost-effectiveness of wind power; and increase support for research and development on this type of clean energy
- The Liberals also vow to create a Canadian National Wind Atlas to determine the best place for wind farms
- The government will work with the provinces and territories to modernize standards for wind turbines and create common rules and guidelines for wind power policies
- The budget pledged funding of $4 billion over 10 years to clean up contaminated sites
- Additional $500 million to clean up non-federal sites, such as the Sydney tar ponds
- New funding, amounting to $1 billion over seven years, to support the development of new environmental technologies, reflecting the sale of Petro-Canada
- Respect Kyoto agreements by working with provinces and territories to develop a climate change plan that respects regional differences
- Pursue the "one-tonne challenge" to help Canadians reduce their emissions by 20 per cent
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- Harper will scrap the Kyoto Protocol in favour of a new clean-air bill that would include mandatory limits on emissions with targeted levels to be achieved by 2010
- The Conservative Party vows to become an "environmental world leader by focusing on clean air, clean water, clean land, and clean energy"
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- Use the sale of Ottawa's 19-per-cent stake in Petro-Canada as collateral to borrow capital for a new Crown corporation for renewable energy
- Apply the polluter-pay principle
- Help Canada shift from fossil and nuclear energy toward green energy with a phased in tax regime
- Build more wind turbines and foster markets for wind energy
- Auction off emission credits to corporations
- Establish a university degree program in green technology
Transportation
- Share half of the federal gas tax to improve public transit, cycling and pedestrian infrastructure in urban areas, and freight rail and rural roads in rural communities
- Provide tax incentives and funding for research into new fuel technology for cars
- Make emission targets mandatory for all manufacturers selling cars in Canada, not voluntary
- Set mandatory sales targets for green cars
- Provide GST rebates on greener cars
- Make public transit passes to employees a tax deduction for employers
Kyoto
- Retrofit buildings to cut pollution, reduce energy costs and create jobs
- Export cleaner power from Quebec and Manitoba to coal-dependent provinces through an east-west transmission grid
- Support only those carbon sink projects that improve local biodiversity
Water
- New deal for cities should make clean drinking water and sustainable waste water treatment a priority
- Implement a ban on bulk water exports
- Create a federal department of water stewardship to develop common standards
- Draft national guidelines for clean drinking water
Toxics
- Ban all imports of toxic waste
- Require chemical companies to produce scientific evidence of a chemical's safety
- Renegotiate NAFTA with regard to environmental treaties
Biodiversity
- Let scientists, not politicians, determine whether a species is at risk, and aim to protect their habitat
- Impose a moratorium on new genetically engineered crops, and make labeling of all GMO's mandatory
- Impose a moratorium on current fish farm practices
- Move to sustainable forest practices
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- Enhance economic growth while preserving the environment patrimony
- Ratify the Kyoto Protocol
- Promote/subsidize public transportation, use of electric cars, etc.
- Protection of the St.Lawrence River and fresh water reserves of Quebec
- Opposes the widening of the St. Lawrence River under study by the federal government and the American Army (Army Corp of Engineers)
- Mandatory labeling of all GMO products
- Ratify the Carthaginian biodiversity protocol
- Environment Canada and Health Canada have to take the necessary measures to protect the health of citizens in view of rising pollution concerns/threats
- Reducing greenhouse effect pollutants is a priority
- Invest in the wind energy industry in Eastern Quebec
- Inject the same amount of money awarded to the Hibernia project. This could create up to 15,000 jobs in that industry
- Promote a tax on non-renewable energy and subsidize polluting industries in reducing emissions
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- Increase fuel taxes by 10 cents per litre - to be phased in over three years
- Phase in a $10 per ton coal consumption tax - also to be phased in over three years
- Remove tax breaks on pesticides
- Implement a carbon tax on gasoline, diesel and coal
- Exclude ethanol blends and biodiesel from fuel tax increases
- Use half the revenue from pollution taxes to decrease income taxes
- Reduce energy demand and create good jobs through conservation and efficiency measures
- Develop renewable and alternative energy sources to phase out fossil fuel and nuclear power within 50 years
- Establish a special five-year tax break on energy efficiency retrofits in commercial and residential buildings
- Offer loans to small and medium-sized businesses to reduce their energy usage and operating costs
- Introduce a fund for local and municipal procurement of electricity meters, through the Federation of Canadian Municipalities
- Add CO2 to the National Registry of Pollutants
- A Green Party government will create a long term pollution management and reduction plan for all the chemicals in the National Pollutant Release Inventory
- Halt petroleum drilling in ecologically sensitive areas
- Perform an evaluation of all federally funded nuclear programs and plan to phase out federal funding
- Create offices for bioregional stewards, under the mandate of Environment Canada
- Seek intervener status in legal actions that impact the health of the ecosystem.
- Advocate for the maintenance of natural corridors
- Work with local environmental groups to reduce pollution levels in air, water and land
- Allocate funding for research on future energy and to host bi-annual international energy conferences
- Monitor waste management, and promote technologies that use sewage as an alternate energy source
Kyoto
- The Green Party says although the Kyoto Protocol is flawed, it is better to develop the treaty than lose time trying to negotiate a stronger agreement
- However, it recommends cancelling the mandate of the Voluntary Challenge Registry as Canada's Kyoto registry
- The party wants to restart a government-run Greenhouse Gas Emissions Registry
- It will require all companies earning more than $1 million in annual revenue to submit reports to the organization
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