Opposition and environmental groups express outrage as Bill C-38 goes to Senate
Members of the Canadian federal government's opposition parties and environmental groups across Canada reacted with renewed vigor against the Harper government's proposed omnibus budget Bill C-38 on Tuesday, after it was passed in the House of Commons on Monday night in a vote of 157-135.
"Nurses are very concerned about the health of Canadians and the budget bill increases risk to Canadians of factors that contribute to ill health - poverty, environmental degradation and reduced access to services and social supports," said Linda Silas, President of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions as part of a press release from Ecojustice.
"We want stronger, not weaker environmental laws in Canada, and we want to see the changes to the federal environmental laws taken out of the omnibus budget bill and given proper debate and discussion in parliament," said Ed Whittingham from the Pembina Institute, a Canadian non-profit think tank on sustainability and environmental protection.
"The overhaul of the environmental assessment rules are a major concern. It means that big projects like new pipelines or mines will go through a sloppier assessment process, with more power to back room decision makers and less opportunities for the public to have a say," Gillian McEachern, Deputy Campaign Director of Environmental Defence told the Vancouver Observer.
Representatives from environmental groups and public service unions said their biggest concerns were the proposed changes to environmental protection and fisheries laws and fast-tracking the environmental assessment process for natural resource development projects such as oil pipelines and tar sands.
The bill was sent immediately after to the Senate for a first reading. A second reading of the bill is scheduled for Wednesday, and a vote is likely at the end of the week.
Federal Green Party leader Elizabeth May challenged Conservative MPs to an 'omnibus quiz,' an open book, multiple choice test.
"I have been concerned through all phases of the debate on C-38 that so many members of Mr. Harper’s caucus, including Cabinet Ministers, seem so unfamiliar with the devastating nature of the legislation they are passing," May said in a press release.
The Green Party later confirmed that no Conservative MPs showed up to take the quiz. The quiz and answers were also posted online shortly after.
Bill C-38 is a 425 page omnibus bill that includes proposals to: reform the employment insurance system, overhaul environmental protection and fisheries laws, fast track the environmental assessment process for natural resource development projects, and raise the eligibility age for old age security.
The bill is likely to pass by the end of the week through a majority Conservative Senate. A pre-study was reported to have raised little fiery debate and opposition, in a marked contrast to the House of Commons. There has been no reports of whether Senators plan to propose amendments to the bill.
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(14) Comments
it's called harper and the corruption party for a reason...
Any Conservative MP with an iota of respect for Canada will cross the line and help to take this most unCanadian of governments down ASAP.
Any Canadian foolish enough to have voted for them owes it the their country to lobby their MP to do so.
... that a bunch of left-wing no-minds think that they can in any legitimate way change the fact that Canadian voters decided that the best party to run the country were the Conservatives. All the other parties got fewer votes.
That is fact.
The Lieberals were reduced to a rump.
The Negative Direction Party is really just a replacement for the utterly failed Bloc Quebecois now.
The Greens -- oh please! May should just go and be quiet.
Then you have the non-elected, microphone hungry left wing enviro-freaks... need I say more?
The ROC is just fine with getting C38 passed into law.
The content and especially the manner in which Bill C38 was rushed through to passage are extremely disappointing. This kind of omnibus bill, that crams a multitude of goals and purposes together, is a forced form of subterfuge. With a minimum of debate for an ordinary bill, never mind one so complex, this bill has been passed from a majority parliament to a majority senate, on the Go Train! For a party that ran on a platform of clarity and an elected senate they seem to have become a derailed juggernaut.
Pembina Institute = Enviro freaks.
... spoil your ballots at every level of voting. Trust None of them anymore. " man insults man to his own injury " . Don't blame the government... blame voters for voting.
This is the pseudo Christian, that with what, 43% said he would respect your opinion. Like a Saturday morninig Jehvoah's witness.
In every photo I have seen of this monster, I see someone with humanity's two greatest evils. Religion and greed, and to sane rational people they do not mix. It amazes me that we were dumber than Americans in ellecting someone who would like to push poor people off a cliff. Hardly seems Christian.
Embrace science or faith.
Be stone age or modern.
"Then you have the non-elected, microphone hungry left wing enviro-freaks... need I say more?"
Scientists, not "enviro-freaks," are warning us now that we are approaching the point of no return--not just for global warming, but for species loss, natural conservation and natural services such as air, water, soil cleaning/generation that are not factored into GDP calculations. As these are critical to human survival, it would be ill-advised to ignore the warnings.
If you want to take part in civil discourse and be taken seriously, it would be better for you to cease your inane name-calling and try your hand and defending an idea using facts and sources. Otherwise, as an ambassador for the so-called "right" you are simply an embarrassment.
Harper is no longer as popular as he was during the election, and the policies he's undemocratically ensconced in this omnibus bill are clearly too unpalatable to the Canadian public for him to risk us scrutinizing them. However, we can be assured that corporate giveaways and retrograde deregulatory measures that our children will pay for with their security, health and prosperity in the future are included, all because Harper views his stint as PM as an audition for a spot on a hedge fund or corporate board later on.
Canadians need to demand more of their political system, we require direct democracy, this old system has outlived its usefullness and has clearly been compromised.
Even though only 24.2% of eligible voters voted for Harper, we now have an elected Harper dictatorship.
Luckily, thanks to the Harper Government's own stupidity, they have already squandered away their majority, as shown by a recent opinion poll
http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/05/28/ndp-making-huge-gains-as-canada-tilts-leftward-poll/
which gives the NDP 143 seats (up from 103) versus 123 for the Tories (down from 166), and therefore the first Socialist Federal Government ever in North America.
Obviously, only a percentage of eligible voters voted at all. That 24.2% of the total was, therefore, adequate to elect a majority government, because voters did not turn out in sufficient numbers to vote for the loonie-tunes left. THANK GOD! We've had far more than enough of them.
As for your assertion, "RealityCheck", that a federal NDP government would be the first Socialist Federal Government ever in North America" --what utter hogwash! That's what we have had under the likes of Turdeau and Cretin and what the US is suffering under the Obamaroids.
At the Pembina Institute, we pride ourselves on serving as a 'tough but fair' critic that aims to add a constructive and solutions-focused voice to the debate over Canada's energy systems. We do our homework before we speak publicly on any matter and, in this highly polarized and politicized environment, our work has never been in greater demand. All our reports include constructive and pragmatic recommendations to reduce the environmental impacts of energy development. For instance, our recent report Solving the Puzzle (http://www.pembina.org/pub/2210) outlines 19 specific policy solutions to improve environmental management in the oilsands. We work regularly with industry and government at all levels to help encourage innovation and the shift toward more environmentally responsible policies and practices.
For the last 25 years we have contributed much-needed research and technical expertise to arm Canadians with credible facts and analysis for informed and effective decision-making. And the facts matter. We are not "supported by taxpayers" and we do not receive a single dollar in core funding to pay for our electricity bills and other organizational costs — instead, we work extremely hard every day to earn our revenue. Pembina competes for and delivers fee-for-service contracts for clients from a wide variety of sectors including industry (e.g., oil and gas, financial, renewable energy, real estate), government (municipalities, provincial and federal ministries and departments), First Nations and other community and environmental organizations. We also apply for project grants from both charitable and non-charitable sources. Last but certainly not least, we are increasingly reliant on the support of concerned individuals, and welcome additional contributions at www.pembina.org/donate to ensure that our voice remains at the table.