The Pembina Institute's Clare
Demerse made the following statement in response to today's release of the NDP's
election
platform and costing
document:
"Overall,
we're happy to see this platform commit to the kinds of policies that would help
move clean energy to the centre of Canada's economic future. Strong action on
climate change can create more jobs than 'business as usual,' so the NDP's
clean energy commitments would be good news for Canadian workers and the
environment.
"While
the platform leaves some unanswered questions about the NDP's plans, the NDP's
proposals would help to make a clean energy transformation in Canada a
reality."
On renewable energy and efficiency
"Today's
platform makes significant new clean energy commitments, including a proposal
to establish a 'green bonds' initiative for clean energy research, a permanent
home energy retrofit program, and federal support for renewable energy and
green jobs training. These kinds of initiatives would help Canada compete with leading
countries in the rapidly growing clean energy economy.
"On
the other hand, the proposed $700 million a year home heating sales tax rebate
would only have a marginal effect on reducing energy costs in the long term.
The same scale of investment would be much more effective if it were targeted
at low income Canadians, for whom rising energy bills are an acute concern."
On climate change
"A
price on greenhouse gas pollution needs to be the centrepiece of any effective
Canadian plan to tackle climate change, and is widely supported by industry.
This platform meets that test by proposing a cap-and-trade system that would
make polluters pay for their allowances - an important design element that
strengthens the proposal. The party's costing document shows that the system
would go into effect this year and begin auctioning allowances immediately.
"The
platform commits to re-introduce the Climate
Change Accountability Act, an important piece of legislation that NDP
Members of Parliament have championed. However, the platform does not outline
the party's specific approach to reducing emissions to meet or beat Canada's current
2020 target, nor does it set aside funding to tackle climate change in poorer
countries.
"The
platform confirms a welcome commitment the NDP announced earlier in this campaign, which is an immediate end
to all fossil fuel subsidies."
On oilsands development
"The
Royal Society of Canada's report on oilsands development clearly identified
cumulative impact assessment as an essential - and, as currently applied, inadequate
- precursor to responsible oilsands development. The NDP's commitment to
developing cumulative impact assessments that would be informed by
science-based monitoring is a positive step.
"The
NDP also commit to developing environmental regulations to protect fishery and
trans-boundary waters, and to implementing science-based monitoring and
enforcement. While this is another positive step, the platform provides no
details on the breadth and extent of this commitment."
On sustainable transportation
"We
are pleased that the NDP platform makes meaningful commitments to help
Canadians get to work more easily, decrease traffic congestion and improve air
quality through transit investments and programs that encourage Canadians to
use transit.
"Enacting
a National Public Transit Strategy and allocating another cent of the gas tax
will mean that cities can implement long-term transit plans with certainty,
rather than dealing with tenuous project-by-project funding."
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Spokesperson:
Clare Demerse
Cell: 613-762-7449
Twitter: @ClareDemerse
Languages: English,
français
Time zone: Eastern
