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For release: March 5, 2008

Government Must End Filibuster of Climate Bill

Ottawa - Members of the Climate Action Network Canada-Réseau action climat Canada today called on the Conservative members of the House of Commons environment committee to end their filibuster of Bill C-377, the Climate Change Accountability Act.

At yesterday’s committee meeting, government members filibustered C-377, a private member’s bill tabled by NDP leader Jack Layton. The bill would establish national greenhouse gas (GHG) emission targets for Canada in line with the reduction levels scientists say are needed to avoid dangerous climate change.

All three opposition parties, who form a majority on the committee, support the bill and have tabled amendments to strengthen it during clause-by-clause meetings. The clause-by-clause review was scheduled to wrap up yesterday. Instead, government members prevented the committee from making any progress by maintaining a filibuster for the entire meeting. This is their second filibuster of C-377 in less than a week.

The committee meets again today in Room 536 of the Wellington Building at 3:30pm.

“The government is blocking a science-based response to global warming, against the wishes of a majority of parliamentarians,” said Graham Saul, Climate Action Network. “How can we take Stephen Harper seriously when he says that he considers global warming ‘perhaps the greatest threat facing humanity’?”

“The targets in Bill C-377 would bring Canada into line with leading governments and with the level of effort that scientists tell us we need,” said John Bennett, ClimateforChange.ca. “Any responsible government would support this bill and get it into law as soon as possible. Instead, we see nothing but opposition and delay from the government MPs on the committee.”

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