Ambrose's top adviser leaves amid flak over Tories' Kyoto stance
Allan Woods and Mike De Souza
CanWest News Service
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
OTTAWA - Facing non-stop pressure over her government's climate change
policies, Environment Minister Rona Ambrose has parted ways with her
most senior political adviser.
Ambrose's chief of staff, Daniel Bernier, a former Progressive
Conservative strategist, packed his belongings at the office Friday,
just as the Sierra Club of Canada gave the new government a failing
grade for its actions on climate change and biodiversity.
While a spokesperson for Ambrose refused to say why Bernier left,
several people have suggested he did not share the government's
philosophy.
''When I met Daniel, I think he was generally interested in the issue of
Kyoto, and arguably wanted to do things differently than the Liberals
did,'' said Greenpeace spokesperson Steven Guilbeault on Monday. ''I
think that doing things differently for him may not have meant scrapping
everything and putting together a (public relations) campaign to make
people believe that they are doing something while doing nothing at
all.''
One Conservative source suggested Bernier wound up being the scapegoat
because of the heat Ambrose has faced since she was sworn in.
Environmental groups have been at war with the government for months,
accusing it of slashing programs designed to combat global warming and
backing away from Canada's Kyoto protocol commitment to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions by six per cent below 1990 levels between 2008
and 2012.
Ambrose has said she wants to develop a more effective program to reduce
greenhouse gases than what the Liberals had on the table.
''I will not jeopardize the long-term opportunity for the government to
put a good plan in place for short-term political gain,'' she said in
the House of Commons on Monday. ''That is exactly what the last party
did for 13 years, and not only did it get an F, it got kicked out of
class.''
The Conservatives have also faced criticism for cancelling the popular
EnerGuide home-renovation program, but Ambrose said her government was
only following through on what the Liberals were reviewing.
''There is not one program that has been cancelled by this government
that was not on the chopping block of the previous government,'' said
Ambrose. ''Any program that is not being continued was either terminated
or had fulfilled its obligations.''
Guilbeault said Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government is losing
control of its message on environmental issues.
''I think it's becoming increasingly apparent that Harper's position on
Kyoto is at odds with the very vast majority of the Canadian society and
it's especially true in Quebec,'' he said. ''Who would have said a month
ago that Jean Charest would fight publicly over anything with Harper?''
Quebec, which introduced its own Kyoto implementation plan last week,
has demanded the federal Conservatives turn over $328 million to help it
reach its target.
Before coming to Ottawa, Bernier was an adviser to a minister in
Charest's government.
--
Darryl McMahon http://www.econogics.com
It's your planet. If you won't look after it, who will?
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