Bill C-311, the Climate Change Accountability Act is the closest thing to effective climate legislation in Canada, and it needs to move to the third reading before it can be law (i.e. legally binding emission reduction targets). A surprise motion in the House of Commons has made April 14th a crucial date for the bill, and on Wednesday there will be a vote as to whether or not it should move to the Third and final reading.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Canadian politics, here are some of the basics:
- There are five parties in government (listed in order of decreasing number of seats in the House of Commons):
- The Conservative Party (Stephen Harper is the leader)
- The Liberal Party (Michael Ignatieff is the leader)
- The Bloc Quebecois (Gilles Duceppe)
- The New Democratic Party (Jack Layton is the leader)
- The Conservative party has typically voted unanimously AGAINST the Climate Change Accountability Act
- The NDP, Bloc, and Greens have typically voted unanimously FOR the Climate Change Accountability Act
- The Liberals have wavering support (it depends on who is being paid off by the oil companies…my bias)
So what are we gonna do? Target those swinging Liberals!
Folks are calling their Liberal MPs (and Liberal MPs who are not their MPs) and telling them that they need to go to parliament on the 14th and vote to move Bill C-311 to its third reading. The bill would commit Canada to legally-binding emission reduction targets: 25% below 1990 levels by the year 2020 (which is the lower end of the range that the IPCC is asking for), and long term targets of 80% below 1990 levels by the year 2050.
With the G8 and G20 meetings happening in Toronto this June 25-27th, all eyes are going to be on Canada. The government already embarrassed us in Copenhagen, and we cannot let them do it on our own turf. Don’t Kill Bill.
If you would like to send a letter to all party leaders, visit The Council of Canadians’ Action Alert
For a list of Liberal MPs (and other party MPs) who voted for and against the bill, visit THIS MAGICAL SITE!
For more info, visit http://ourclimate.ca ou visitez http://notreclimate.ca
For information about what community and citizen groups are doing during the G8/G20 visit:
Toronto Community Mobilization Network: http://g20.torontomobilize.org/
People’s Summit: http://peoplessummite2010.ca
G20 Youth Climate Convergence: cycc.convergence@gmail.com
DO you know that one of the producers for Kill Bill was also a producer of An Inconvenient Truth and has just done a film on nuclear energy?
It’s confusing when you click on the “magical site” it looks like the Conservatives voted FOR the bill and the NDP and Bloc voted against. Can you explain this?
- Information about key votes, with lists of MPs who voted to support Bill C-311:
October 21, 2009 – Conservatives and most Liberal MPs voted in favour of delaying Bill C-311; NDP, Bloc and fourteen Liberal MPs voted to fast-track Bill C-311.
http://www.sierraclub.ca/en/node/1585
April 1, 2009 – Second Reading – Bill C-311 passed with support from NDP, Bloc and Liberals.
http://www.sierraclub.ca/en/node/1603
- Download this Facebook profile pic to show your support:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3986306&l=cd30cb640a&id=513599219
= Join the following Facebook events to show your support for Bill C-311:
Save Bill C-311 / Sauver le Projet de loi C-311
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=111646015524829
SAVE BILL C-311! SAUVER LE PROJET DE LOI C-311!
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=113062605387570
Save Canada’s Climate Bill!
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=107530802617338
interesting kate! i did not know that …what a coincidence
Thanks Mike for adding those that follow up information and clearing up some of that confusion. it really had to do with the wording of the motion. What “The Magical Site” was meant to get across was that there all of the parties except for the liberals were unified in their positions on the bill.