| Canada signs on to cluster bomb ban
Canada is one of 46 countries that has agreed to an international declaration to ban the "use, production, transfer and stockpiling of those cluster munitions that cause harm to civilians."
Cluster munitions are air- or ground-fired munitions that contain potentially hundreds of small bombs that are meant to explode individually upon impact. Organizations such as Human Rights Watch and the International Committee of the Red Cross oppose the munitions because of their deadly toll on civilians. Cluster munitions have a wide dispersal over a large area and often the individual bombs don’t explode upon impact and can blow up civilians years later. Cluster munitions have been used in a variety of conflicts, including in Afghanistan and Iraq by U.S. troops and by Israel in Lebanon. The U.S., Russia, China and Israel are among the countries that have not agreed to the declaration banning cluster munitions.
Ambra Dickie, a spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, says "we definitely share the goal of reducing negative humanitarian impacts."
The goal of the declaration is to create an international treaty banning the munitions.
Environmentalists oppose natural gas pipeline to oilsands
Several environmental groups have urged the Joint Review Panel for the Mackenzie Gas Project to consider how natural gas from the proposed Mackenzie Valley pipeline will be used when making recommendations on the project. The Pembina Institute, the Sierra Club of Canada, the World Wildlife Fund, Sierra Legal Defence Fund and the Natural Resources Defense Council are concerned that the natural gas from the pipeline will be used in the Alberta oilsands. Oilsands production is much more greenhouse gas intensive than conventional oil production and therefore has a more negative impact on climate change.
The joint review panel is an independent body appointed by the federal Minister of the Environment to study the environmental and socio-economic impacts of the proposed pipeline, which would take natural gas from the Northwest Territories to the southern market.
Business as usual in oilsands says Stelmach
Premier Ed Stelmach has announced the government will spend $396 million over the next three years to increase affordable housing, build new water and wastewater treatment facilities and to improve health care delivery in Fort McMurray. However, he says he has no plans to slow down oilsands development despite calls from opposition politicians, environmentalists, some aboriginal groups and even former premier Peter Lougheed to do so.
"The bottom line is the projects we’re funding today are critical to keep Alberta’s economy engine running smoothly, strongly now and into the future," said Stelmach at a press conference. "They ensure the oilsands growth continues and benefits the economy of the whole province and all Albertans."
When asked about the province’s record on climate change Stelmach said, "We have done more than any other jurisdiction in Canada."
He said Alberta has reduced greenhouse gas emission intensity by 15 to 16 per cent between 1992 and 2007 to back up his assertion. Greenhouse gas emission intensity reductions refers to a reduction in emissions per unit of production, not absolute reductions. According to the Pembina Institute, an environmental think-tank, oilsands projects are projected to contribute up to 47 per cent of Canada’s growth in greenhouse gas emissions between 2003 and 2010 if the industry doesn’t make any changes.
Climate change scientists say only absolute greenhouse gas emission reductions will prevent global temperatures from rising. |
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