Last week the Conservatives announced their new Clean Air Act, and what’s a good plan without an attack? Liberal Environment Critic John Godfrey said that “Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s proposed Clean Air Act is nothing but a smokescreen to cover his government’s lack of commitment to addressing global warming.”

The Conservative policy machine soon counterattacked: “Canada’s new government began the long process of reversing 13 years of Liberal neglect on the environment.”

Who should we believe? Even the media is accusing the Tories of not having a “plan.” But did the Liberals actually have a plan when they were in government? The Liberal “plan” did not seem to create any positive change for Canadians.

Canada currently ranks 27th out of 29 countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in per capita sulphur dioxide emissions, and 26th in the OECD in per capita nitrogen oxide emissions. Air pollution contributes to one out of every 12 Canadian deaths, and has helped to bring about a four-fold increase in childhood asthma.

In terms of Kyoto, the Liberal “plan” consisted of spending more money to purchase other nations’ credits so that we could continue to pollute. This does not make sense economically or environmentally.

The Conservative Clean Air Act is designed to take steps toward stricter enforcement and the compliance of industry in implementing a regulatory system with national standards. This is a logical approach. Legislating stricter terms for industry, as many critics advocate, would most likely shut down many industries that our country depends upon for employment and economic health.

The government does not support pollution. However, it is an unfortunate reality that our system has evolved in such a way that much of our industry happens to pollute. Completely shutting down this system, or changing the infrastructure, would take time and result in national bankruptcy and devastation that would embarrass even the NDP.

Environmentalists are also apparently angry with the Conservatives-Sierra Club Executive Director Stephen Hazell claims that “the Clean Air Act is a hot air act. There is no need for it. We have all the legislation we need to bring in the regulations that are necessary. [The act] is a recipe for delay.”

Perhaps Hazell is right. The Liberals did seem to have legislation called CEPA, the oft-revised Canadian Environment Protection Act, which Godfrey endorses. The plan promotes sustainable development and pollution prevention, while acknowledging the need to virtually eliminate the most persistent and bioaccumulative toxic substances, and the need to control and manage pollutants and waste if their release into the environment cannot be prevented.

This seemingly clear plan raises some important questions: if the CEPA legislation is intact, why hadn’t the Liberals been implementing it? And why are environmentalists only now speaking out and in a rush to get things done? Where were these voices under the Liberals, and who was supporting CEPA then? Why all this talk of Kyoto when we already had CEPA?

Environmentalists are complaining that there is no actual Conservative plan, and their protests are delaying real action on the environment. However, with Liberal support, action can be taken and bills can be passed. Perhaps there is a need for this new legislation because CEPA’s goals cannot realistically be attained.

This government is being realistic about our goals-Canada should not be signing up for agreements that we cannot fulfill, so we might as well be honest about our limitations. 

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I do not claim to be an environmental expert, or an expert of any kind for that matter, but I do continue to urge students and all citizens to be mindful and skeptical of what they hear from the media, the opposition, and even our government.

In this piece I have merely questioned what I see on the Hill and did some online research, and I urge you to similarly get informed on the issues. I also welcome comments, questions, suggestions, agreements, and peaceful attacks on what you have read. I do try to respond to the online posts, and appreciate any dialogue that can come of this.

Lisa Anthony, U of T alum, is currently interning for a Conservative MP in Ottawa.