Backroom deal ties Tories' hands on Kyoto

par BILL CURRY — 22 juin 2007

The Conservatives will be legally bound to implement the Kyoto Protocol on global warming as of noon today, even though Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government insists such a task is impossible.OTTAWA -- The Conservatives will be legally bound to implement the Kyoto Protocol on global warming as of noon today, even though Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government insists such a task is impossible.

On the positive side for the government, the 2007 budget will pass today as most Liberal senators will vote in favour of the same budget opposed in the House of Commons by Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion and his caucus of MPs.

The two events are the result of backroom negotiations between Liberals and Tories, providing new examples of the strange calculations and concessions that take place in a minority Parliament.

Liberal senators significantly outnumber Conservatives in the Senate, which creates a perpetual source of conflict and frustration for the Harper government. The two parties have agreed that eight bills will be put to a vote this morning. All of the bills are expected to pass and receive royal assent at a noon-hour ceremony before senators break for summer.

The House Leader for the Conservative government, Peter Van Loan, said he is pleased to hear the Senate will pass the government's budget.

"It's an excellent budget and I'm glad to see it has the prospect of becoming law," he said. Mr. Van Loan said he would have preferred to see the Senate sit a bit longer though to pass a handful of crime bills.

As for the Kyoto bill, the minister said it does not force the government to spend money.

"It's a very unusual bill," he said. "I'm not sure what it is other than an expression of heartfelt sentiments."

The Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act is a private member's bill introduced by Liberal MP Pablo Rodriguez. It calls on the federal government to produce a plan within 60 days for Canada to honour its commitments under the global-warming deal.

Then after 180 days, the government "shall ensure that Canada fully meets its obligations" under the protocol through regulations.

Although the bill says the government's plan shall include "spending or fiscal measures or incentives," the Speaker of the House of Commons, Peter Milliken, ruled the bill does not force the government to spend money.

The government had argued the contrary, but Environment Minister John Baird seized on the Speaker's decision to argue that the bill is essentially meaningless.

Privately, government officials have said they will simply publish a report within the required time frame that compiles all of the Conservative government's previously announced climate-change measures. As for the budget, it is expected that Liberal senators from the Atlantic provinces will vote against the legislation, but they will be largely outnumbered by the rest of the Liberals and Conservatives.

Marc Roy, a spokesman for Liberal Senate Leader Céline Hervieux-Payette, said it is tradition for the Senate to support the budget. He added that the Atlantic senators who will vote against the budget to protest against the government's handling of the Atlantic Accord will be doing so with Mr. Dion's support.

The Conservatives will be legally bound to implement the Kyoto Protocol on global warming as of noon today, even though Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government insists such a task is impossible.

Source:The Globe and Mail