The Harper government is projecting some major cuts over the next year to several of its environmental initiatives, including climate change and clean air, according to newly released federal estimates.
The numbers, released Tuesday by the Treasury Board Secretariat, show a 59 per cent cut in global-warming and air-pollution spending as part of more than $1.6 billion in annual, governmentwide reductions to environmental services across the different federal departments. The shift is the equivalent to a 14 per cent reduction in spending that also includes a $222-million or 20 per cent reduction in spending at Environment Canada.
Natural Resources Canada is estimating a $928-million (21 per cent) decrease in its spending for the next year, including a $390-million decrease in spending due to the end of a popular retrofit program that subsidized homeowners for renovations that reduce energy consumption and utility bills. Environment Minister Peter Kent suggested that some funds could reappear following the upcoming federal budget.
Other funding cuts at Environment Canada include a $19.5-million reduction related to the government winding down an action plan to deal with contaminated federal sites, as well as about $3 million (four per cent) in reductions for compliance promotion and enforcement for wildlife and pollution.
This is a disaster that the Harper’s government wants to reduce the budget. Mr Harper's government is doing this knowing that they want to be among the best when it comes to environment awareness and accountability. And especially that Canada has not respect the agreements of the Kyoto Protocol because its emissions of greenhouse gases are still very high.
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