Statesmanship cannot exist when governed by daily polls to see who is up and who is “on the ropes.” In the brinksmanship created by an election threat, Jack Layton and the NDP acted in the interests of the country and the planet. [...] There has been a significant and impressive increase in the level of activity and the seriousness of purpose the federal government assigns to the issue. [...] The only “plus” was the fact that the 55 megatonne target was voluntary and the Project Green approach for the biggest polluters calls for the target to be regulated by law. [...] While this option for an IJC examination and report has never been used for fear of upsetting the practice of joint referrals from both Canada and the US, the reckless action of the North Dakota government and indifference shown so far by the US federal government, speak to the exceptional circumstance of this case. [...] The unilateral and probably unlawful extension of the consultation period for listing some species, the decision not to list the highly endangered sockeye salmon populations of Sakinaw Lake and Cultus Lake, and the failure to issue an emergency order to protect the highly endangered northern spotted owl all point to a lack of political will to implement SARA.
- Pages
- 66
- Published in
- Canada
