This may come as a shock to some readers, but I am not a supporter of the Conservative Party of Canada. I find their vision of a neutered federal government subservient to the provinces repellent, their views on social issues backwards and mean-spirited and their approach to justice cruel and overly punitive.
You can add to that list that they are stupid ideological bastards who will make incredibly destructive decisions as long as they can cut taxes.
The new Conservative government will be making deep spending cuts to programs designed to fight global warming in order to fund tax cuts, according to cabinet documents obtained by The Globe and Mail.The documents show that the government will slash spending on Environment Canada programs designed to fight global warming by 80 per cent, as well as cuts of 40 per cent to budgets devoted to climate change.
The text reveals that the Tory campaign promise of tax breaks for transit passes would amount to a cost of $2 billion over the span of five years.
However, the government has no evidence the incentives will increase ridership.
"A wide range of data suggests that people are not very responsive to changes in transit fares," said a memo prepared for Environment Minister Rona Ambrose last week by officials in the office of her deputy minister. ". . . while the ridership impacts of the tax incentives are not known with precision, analysis suggests they will be low."
The six-page memo outlines five transit tax-incentive options, making it clear that the government prefers the pass holder tax break.
But its benefits to transit users may be invalidated, the memo states, because "it could be quite easy for the transit authorities to raise their fares to absorb the benefit of the tax credit."
The section of the documents on the budget cuts, written by an unidentified government official after a cabinet meeting in late March that approved the reductions, also said the Tories want to try to claw back $260 million the Liberals had offered to the United Nations to fund its international climate-change programs.
Ryan Sparrow, a spokesman for Environment Minister Rona Ambrose, refused to confirm or deny the details in the leak, adding that the government hasn't finalized its decisions on climate change.
"Once there is an announcement to be made, we'll make one," Sparrow told the Globe.
The documents, which were obtained by the opposition Liberals, bolster previous claims that large-scale cuts to climate-change programs are planned.
The documents reveal that while spending cuts are expected, staff positions will be retained.
"Only $375 million was approved for climate spending, with most of the dollars covering staff salaries until the new government determines next steps.
"What is clear is that staff will have little to do and that they will have no budgets to spend over the next year and that more cuts are coming."
According to the documents, the programs are being eliminated to help fund tax cuts, including the GST reduction, which was a key plank in Prime Minister Stephen Harper's election campaign.
The cuts drew fire from environmentalists such as John Bennett, a spokesman for the Sierra Club of Canada, accused the Tories of having a "slash and burn campaign."
The details from the leak were published one day after Climate Action Network Canada made public its accusations the government plans to cut funding to climate change programs.
David Coon, policy director of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick, encouraged the government to make the fight against climate change a priority.
"Canadians need a vision of hope in the face of the frightening consequences of rapid climate change," Coon said at the press conference on Wednesday. "For that hope they look to their government, and their expectations are high."
What we have here is a perfect storm of ideological wingnuttery, encapsulating blinkered thinking on climate change, a reneging of our international responsiblity to be a positive force in fighting global warming, a slavish devotion to tax cuts in the face of evidence that they won't achieve their stated goals and a commitment to poor management practices by maintaining staff who will have nothing to do in the short term, and probably nothing to do in the long term as future cuts are planned and implemented. This is incompetence taken to the level of art. I'm not usually against multi-tasking, but do they have to fuck up on so many fronts at once? Couldn't they just focus their wingnuttery in one area at a time so we can digest our slide into neoconservative hell in manageable portions?
The government of Stephen Harper has become the Limbo Government. No matter how far you lower the bar in terms of your expectations of them, they manage to slide underneath it. These planned cuts are irresponsible and driven by the same failed ideology that has made the United States the financial basket case and international pariah it is today. The problem is that Harper and his crew look south and see a success story in George Bush's America. That's why they are so determined to bring all the benefits of the neoconservative revolution north.
God Bless America Junior.
"This may come as a shock to some readers, but I am not a supporter of the Conservative Party of Canada."
Jeez - ya think ya know someone...;)
Tim, it's almost like you bugged my house. Me and my little family had our own bout of lamentations over this this morning. What a bloody nightmare.
I used to look south in morbid wonderment, thinking; "how on earth could Americans let this happen to their country"? Now I'm watching it unfold right here, and as I listen to Harper's minions online and elsewhere smugly championing this crap, I see just what progressive Americans are up against.
And I do believe it's a big mistake to think our loons are any less dangerous than their loons.
Hoooow nice. Lascelles principles, anyone? I really don't want the first post-Tory government to spend its entire term trying to clean up the toxic (literally and figuratively) policy blunders that the CPC "grace period" allows them to make. They have a slim minority and no minority at all to destroy the environment! We can't stand for garbage like this.
You'd think the three opposition parties - two of which have decent environmental credibility - would mount some major resistance to this. We'll see how it unfolds.
Nightingale - Our loons are less dangerous to world at large than theirs (we lack nukes, thank gawd) but they will just as disastrous domestically. A bleak prospect.
This sounds really awful--but has anyone seen any evidence that those Environment Canada staff were getting anything done while they did have the funding?
To be honest, I have this suspicion that the difference here is that under the Liberals, the drill is "Here, have some money so we'll look like we're doing something. But for God's sake don't actually *do* anything with it or you might annoy our corporate campaign donors!"
Whereas under the Cons it's "This is egregious government waste! We'll be having that money--we need to funnel it into productive things like corporate welfare or helping the Americans pay for Star Wars!"
So, really, the money was nonfunctional before and it'll probably be funneled into something nonfunctional again now. Po-tay-to, Po-tah-to.
Although I must admit that it's likely the retained staff doing nothing is a setup. In a year or so the Conservatives will be all, "Look at these Environment Canada employees doing nothing! Clearly this example of wasteful government staffing means we must cut government staff, especially those involved in administering social programs!"
Purple - You wear your cynicism like a comfortable old sweater. And it fits you perfectly.:-)
encapsulating blinkered thinking on climate change"
That aptly describes the greenhouse gas dogmatism, which fortunately is starting to show some cracks via the observation that the primary influence on climate is solar output which is not a constant. Of course I could go back to basics and yell "Correlatation is not causation!", but who cares about basics when the gravy train is at stake.
Sean - Could you provide a link to anything regarding the claim you made? Thanks.
Ah yes, our all-powerful "corporate donors." I suppose that, apart from making us fund environmental initiatives to do nothing (I suppose when the explanation is that intuitive, painstaking research is a bit much to ask) they also cleverly manipulated us into passing that most famous of corporate sellouts, C-24. All hail our pin-striped overlords! Cthulhu fhtagn!
Tim, if you're going to keep posting about climate change, you should read the how to talk to a climate sceptic guide
Could come in handy for dealing with the Sean's of the world.
Ah, excellent link, Declan. Thank you.
http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2006/04/13/ambrose-climate.html
There's an article at The Dan Report that kind of straddles the line between the "cone of silence" and "destroy the environment" policies of the Harper government. Minister-muzzles-burueaucrat-heavy-handedly is the basic theme - also links to Newman's program where it is discussed 44 mins in.
This sounds really awful--but has anyone seen any evidence that those Environment Canada staff were getting anything done while they did have the funding?
So complain about, and agitate against, a lack of political will at the time, but don't use said prior lack of will as cover for an even lazier or more mendacious government.
From Ms. Ambrose website:
Prior to her election, Ms. Ambrose held the post of Senior Intergovernmental Affairs Officer with the International and Intergovernmental Affairs Department of the Government of Alberta. This position permitted her to focus on issues such as senate reform, the Kyoto Protocol and the 2003 Canada Health Accord.
Now we have the person who was the mouthpiece for Alberta running the Ministry of the Environment.
I guess I'm a little amazed that people are surprised by the Harper government's actions. I also find it completely disingenuous for Conservatives to criticize the Liberals actions on climate change when Conservatives, particularly Alberta Conservatives have done everything possible to prevent any serious action on Climate Change.
I was waiting for you to post on this... what a shame that Harper doesn't want Canada to stand out in any way other than being a lacky to the US.
Nightingale,
A few days ago you made a comment that the BBG comments were sounding a lot like SDA. After reading the absolute insult-riddled crap you post here, I believe that you are contributing to Pogge becoming more like SDA. How can you make insults directed at those you ideologically oppose here, yet criticize the same behaviour there?
Hypocrite.
That seems a tad sensitive Andrew, she didn't say you were a loon. Generally speaking most people think that some of their political opponents are a tad unhinged - just part of the cut and thrust.
Andrew - buck up. You know full well that the comments here look nothing like SDA. No is telling anyone to STFU (as in the example I provided). And it’s not like I actually compared you to whatsherface.
So what's your real problem? Are you offended that I called the Harper gov't *less* dangerous that Bush Co.? Don’t worry, give them time. They almost have the press wrestled under control…
Or are you still upset about the word "progressive" and the fact it really doesn't apply to the CPC? While it’s true that a society can “progress” backwards, that’s not the meaning we’re attaching here.
Or is it that you malign the inference that one day Canada will be forced to confront the same gut-wrenching feeling that (according to approval ratings) is plaguing much of America at the moment? You know the one, it goes: “oh shit, what the hell have we done”?.
Or are you mad that I called Harper’s minions “smug”? Believe me, if I was looking to insult them, I wouldn’t have been nearly so diplomatic.
And in the future, if you have a problem with a comment – try addressing *that* comment, it just makes more sense…and it wouldn’t look like you’ve stewed for days over something I said :)
ha ha
Not only cutting Environment Canada, but giving tax relief to people buy gas.
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/04/19/gas-prices-mackay060419.html
That'll help meet our international goals.