The Liberals aim to establish a national renewable fuels standard that will call for minimum of 5 per cent mix of renewable fuels in gasoline and diesel by the end of 2010
They aim to develop domestic “offset credits” for farmers who adopt low-till or zero-till practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions using the government’s new climate fund
The Liberals plan to expand the existing incentives for thermal cogeneration of power and accelerate the capital cost allowance for forest bio-energy to encourage energy conservation and lower greenhouse gas emissions
The party vows to reduce overlapping regulatory requirements to make regulation more efficient without compromising social and environmental goals
The Liberals vow to expand air quality monitoring and reporting through the new Air Quality Index
If re-elected, a Liberal government will implement a 10-year, $1 billion plan to clean Canadian waterways
The Liberals vow to expand Canada’s network of National Parks and Protected Areas to safeguard natural areas
They also plan to work with provincial and territorial governments to establish or expand national parks in Manitoba, Newfoundland, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, and to invest $150 million over the next five years to support these developments
In the 2005 budget, Martin’s Liberals promised $4.7 billion over five years, including $1 billion to cut greenhouse gases and $200 million to boost wind energy
Under the Kyoto plan unveiled in 2005, the Liberal minority government announced $10 billion would go toward reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions in Canada over the next eight years
Martin has spoken out against drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
In Budget 2005, the Liberals commit to securing the funding for the Green Municipal Fund, which helps municipalities build environmentally sustainable infrastructure, bringing the total up to $550 million |
During the 2006 election campaign, Stephen Harper said he would stretch the 200-mile limit to fisheries in international waters. Under his plan, Canadian control would be extended to the following areas: the edge of the Continental Shelf; the nose and tail areas of Newfoundland's Grand Banks; and the Flemish Cap in the North Atlantic.
Introduce a Clean Air act which will reduce smog days by taking decisive action to legislate caps on smog-causing pollutants
Ensure water quality by addressing environmental issues such as the need for aquifer mapping, protection of the Great Lakes Basin, banning interbasin water transfers, imposing substantial penalties for illegal bilge oil dumping, and ensuring adequate watershed management and methods to ensure water quality and quantity
Clean up federal contaminated sites and encourage the private sector to clean up brownfields
Require 5 per cent average renewable content in Canadian gasoline and diesel fuel, such as ethanol and biodiesel, by 2010
Maintain the existing federal infrastructure agreements that have been entered into between the federal government, the provinces, and municipalities
Support the development of the Pacific Gateway Initiative and designate at least $591 million to the Initiative, but give greater freedom to British Columbia and the other partners |
During the 2006 election campaign, Jack Layton said he would commit to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Canada by 25 per cent by the year 2020
In the deal Layton and his team brokered with Martin’s Liberals in 2005, $900 million was pledged for environmental initiatives such as an energy retrofit program that helps homeowners reduce energy bills and pollution through efficiency
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
Establish centres in solar, tidal, wind and geothermal power across Canada
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
Phase in over four years a tax shifting regime to transform incentive, subsidy and investment programs to focus upon green and co-generated energy
Create markets for Canada’s green energy businesses, particularly solar energy businesses, through the building retrofit program
Make sure Nova Scotia receives fair share of resource revenue, that people of Newfoundland and Labrador are treated fairly in accordance with Atlantic Accord, and that Saskatchewan is treated on an equitable basis with respect to energy revenues and equalization
Provide assistance to coal-dependent provinces to close coal plants and help provinces shift from coal-powered plants, providing means to export cleaner hydro power from Quebec and Manitoba to coal- and nuclear-dependent provinces
Develop a transition fuel strategy that maintains an adequate domestic supply of natural gas to replace oil and coal by directing the National Energy Board to ensure Canadian energy needs are met before allowing unlimited natural gas exports to the United States
Support family farms by expanding incentives for ethanol as a transitional fuel and supplement farm incomes by importing innovative ideas from states like Iowa, which rents strips of land from farmers for wind turbines
Maintain the moratorium on oil and gas exploration off the Pacific coast and in the Great Lakes
Establish a national building energy-efficient retrofit program to reduce demand for electricity
Ban all animal-to-animal feed
Reduce Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions
Transportation
In the deal Layton and his team brokered with Martin’s Liberals in 2005, the government promised a one-cent increase in the gas tax transfer to municipalities to improve public transit, cycling and pedestrian infrastructure in urban areas, and freight rail and rural roads in rural communities
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
Fund investment in public transit, rail and renewable energy
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
Support farmers who try to reduce pesticide and antibiotic dependence
Back municipalities in legal battles with chemical corporations after attempting to limit pesticide use in their community
Introduce a far more comprehensive Water Stewardship Act to protect our most valuable natural resource
Creating a department of water stewardship to address federal water issues and develop common standards
Take an aggressive stand on cross-border water issues
Create a Canadian Centre for Environmental Heath to promote research on human and ecological health
Overhaul the Canadian Environmental Protection Act to implement mandatory pollution prevention measures for corporations and institutions
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 GMOs mandatory
Impose a moratorium on current fish farm practices
Move to sustainable forest practices
Reduce the fees that national parks charge
End clear-cut logging in old growth forests |
In the deal Layton and his team brokered with Martin’s Liberals in 2005, $900 million was pledged for environmental initiatives such as an energy retrofit program that helps homeowners reduce energy bills and pollution through efficiency
Enhance economic growth while preserving the environment patrimony
Support and implement the Kyoto Protocol
Promote/subsidize public transportation and offer tax credits for transit users
Protection of the St.Lawrence River and fresh water reserves of Quebec
Oppose the widening of the St. Lawrence River under study by the federal government and the American Army (Army Corp of Engineers)
Pressure Ottawa to give more money to the provinces to develop alternative energy sources
Mandatory labeling of all GMO products
Introduce manufacturing standards for the auto-industry to make cars that produce less greenhouse gases
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 a 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 |
Eliminate the use of the most dangerous toxic chemicals by 2008
Amend Charter of Rights and Freedoms to enshrine the right of future Canadians to an ecological heritage that includes breathable air and drinkable water
Prohibit the use of pesticides for cosmetic purposes
Regulate chemicals in consumer products through the Canadian Environmental Protection Act
Mandate a CEPA taskforce to focus on pollution reduction in the Great Lakes basin
Create a Clean Canada Fund to clean up toxic sites
Ban the incineration of imported toxic waste
Enact product stewardship legislation that would require wood producers to increase the life span of their products and to assume the full recycling and disposal costs of products
Work with provinces, First Nations and the logging industry to create federal standards and best practices that ensure the sustainability of our forests
Replace clear-cutting with selection logging and conserve old growth forest ecosystems
Pursue Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification of all forestry conditional upon compliance to its 10 principles on crown lands and encourage the same on private lands
Promote alternatives to wood as sources of paper fibre
Renegotiate trade agreements to restrict the export of raw logs
Promote use of wood waste to produce bio-fuels and co-generated steam and electricity
Stop all bulk water exports by renegotiating or rejecting trade deals that allow corporations to strip watersheds of freshwater and disrupt ecosystems
Rescind uranium-mining permits and prohibit export of fissionable nuclear material
Promote life-cycle product stewardship of metals to ensure that once mined, remain in economic service for generations
Ensure all mining operations are insured for environmental liabilities and have an adequate pre-funded plan for remediation when mine closes
Introduce and regulate the mining industry under an International Corporate
Social Responsibility Act
End all federal subsidies to fossil fuel sectors and discontinue exploration, drilling and extraction in ecologically sensitive areas
Coordinate with the provinces a $1.5 billion investment to build 10,000 MW of renewable energy capacity by 2010
Redirect research and development programs towards renewable, alternative, and soft energy technologies that will reduce fossil fuel consumption and phase out nuclear power
Expand existing and institute new energy conservation strategies as a cheaper alternative to new power plants
Assist provinces to design and implement improved energy efficiency programs
Implement plan to address the economic consequences of higher oil prices
Work with the provinces and municipalities to promote and support alternative energy initiatives such as sewage co-generation
Shift taxes on fossil fuels to earlier stages in the production cycle to encourage competition among companies to lower operating costs while reducing emissions
Increase emission reduction targets for large industrial emitters to at least 55 megatons above and beyond other policies
Use revenue from tradable pollution permits to offset tax breaks for increasing energy efficiency and industry initiatives that reduce fuel consumption
Pass the Canada Well-Being Measurement Act and implement the Canadian Index of Well-being
Create thousands of "Green collar jobs" by encouraging the development of low-emission industries
Impose significant taxes on harmful chemicals until they can be eliminated
Sign and implement the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety
Strengthen and enforce Canada's Species at Risk Act in partnership with the provinces and territories
Provide Parks Canada with the funding necessary to protect the ecological integrity of Canada's National Parks and, working with provinces, establish compatible-use buffer zones around national parks
Fast track the establishment of marine protected areas
End federal assistance to the commercial seal hunt and encourage more sustainable economic alternatives for sealers
Expand network of land, freshwater and marine protected areas
Ban bottom dragging and lead efforts for a global ban on harmful fishing practices
Support local, provincial and territorial genetically engineered free zones and pass legislation requiring labeling of genetically engineered foods
Ensure that supply management systems provide stable domestic markets, viable farm income, and easier market access for specialty and organic producers
Permit continued unregulated production by smaller and mixed family farms that sell to local markets
Adapt food safety and other regulations and work with provincial governments to provide area exemptions with locally adopted regulations to support small and medium size farmers and food processors to build and strengthen local food economies
Shift government-supported research away from biotechnology and energy-intensive farming and toward organic food production
Redefine the Department of Fisheries and Ocean's mandate to protect and conserve wild fisheries
Work with provinces to re-establish a wild fish economy with primary concern going to rehabilitating fish stocks, protecting fish habitats and phasing-out fish farms
Protect animal welfare by phasing out factory farming, reducing distances live animals can be transported, improving conditions of animals in slaughterhouses, auctions, entertainment, and prohibiting trade in exotic animals
Ensure that 100 per cent of livestock waste is recycled safely and no animal by-products are used in animal feed
Pass a law that forbids the patenting of life forms and makes biotech developers of genetically engineered crops liable for damage such crops might cause
Create a national clean freight initiative that uses both regulatory means and financial incentives to improve fleet efficiency and safety
Enforce a mandatory target of 25 per cent better fuel efficiency for the automobile industry and increase standards over the next five years
Employ incentives to increase the percentage of ethanol content in gasoline and the availability of other biofuels
Subsidize alternative heating systems including solar, geothermal, and high efficiency wood stoves |
