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For Immediate Release Parties must set aside differences and move forward quickly with a green budget, Canada’s national environmental community says. OTTAWA (Feb. 8, 2005)– Twenty-one of Canada’s leading environmental and conservation groups released a report today calling on federal parties to set aside their differences and to move forward quickly on the environment with a green budget. The report, Green Budget Coalition: Recommendations for Budget 2005 shows the parties how they can use the upcoming budget to keep the environmental promises they’ve made to Canadians. “There’s
a surprising level of agreement among the federal government and the
opposition parties when it comes to the environment”, said Barry
Turner, Director of Government Relations with Ducks Unlimited Canada.
“The time for merely sending signals on where the government intends to go on environmental issues is over”, said Elizabeth May, Executive Director of the Sierra Club of Canada. “It’s late in the day on protecting the environment and on stopping climate change - the parties need to act now” “The federal budget is the single most important annual environmental policy statement made by the government,” said Julie Gelfand, President of Nature Canada. “If the parties are serious about responsible government spending, they should start with the millions of dollars in handouts that subsidize polluters.” The Green Budget Coalition’s report details how the budget can be used to put greener cars on the roads, provide greater protection for Canada’s over-stressed coastal regions, and enable Canada to meet its Kyoto target. “It’s important for Canada that the parties move forward quickly on the environment using the upcoming budget”, said Sydney Ribaux, General Coordinator at Équiterre. “The present minority situation in Parliament means that each party can share in the credit for protecting the environment – a non-partisan issue of there ever was one.” - 30 - The full report is available at: www.greenbudget.ca For
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