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Toronto Sun
39 minutes ago
- Toronto Sun
GOLDSTEIN: Canada's targets for cutting greenhouse gases fit the definition of insanity
Liberal and Conservative governments have been setting and failing to meet emission reduction targets since 1988. Photo by iStock / GETTY IMAGES After almost four decades of Canadian governments setting and failing to hit eight consecutive targets for reducing Canada's industrial greenhouse gas emissions, surely it's time to admit the targets are meaningless. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Far from being 'aspirational' as supporters claim, they in fact deceive Canadians about the effectiveness of federal spending of more than $200 billion of taxpayers' money on climate change (as of 2023) on 149 federal programs administered by 13 government departments, since the Liberal government came to power in 2015. In fact, Liberal and Conservative governments have been setting and failing to meet emission reduction targets since 1988. Given 37 years of ongoing failures, these targets now fit the definition of insanity — doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results. Here's where things stand given the latest available federal government emissions data that comes from 2023. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Canada's current emission reduction target was set by then prime minister Justin Trudeau in 2021 — a goal of reducing Canada's emissions to at least 40% (and, ideally, up to 45%) below 2005 levels in 2030. According to the federal government, which retroactively changes the historical data every year based, it says, on improved data-gathering methods, Canada emitted 759 million tonnes of these gases in 2005. That means the government's target is to cut Canada's emissions to 455 million tonnes (40% below 2005 levels) and, ideally, to 417 million tonnes (45% below 2005 levels) in 2030. Canada's emissions in 2023 were 694 million tonnes which is 8.5% below 2005 levels. To meet the minimum federal target of reducing emissions to 455 million tonnes in 2030 would require cutting 2023 emissions by 239 million tonnes. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. That would mean the equivalent of shutting down Canada's entire old and gas sector (208 million tonnes of annual emissions in 2023) in 2030 and still coming up short. To reach the government's interim target of reducing emissions to 20% below 2005 levels in 2026 (meaning 607 million tonnes) would require a cut of 87 million tonnes of emissions by next year, more than all emissions from Canada's buildings sector in 2023 (82.7 million tonnes). Earlier this year, the government announced another unrealistic target of reducing emissions to 45%-50% of 2005 levels by 2035. A report by federal environment commissioner Jerry DeMarco following an audit of the Liberals' Net Zero Emissions Accountability Act last year said it was still possible for the government to achieve its 2030 target, 'but now the task is much harder because there are only six years left to do essentially 20 or 30 years worth of reductions.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. His findings, however, provided few grounds for optimism. DeMarco said the government's lack of transparency made it impossible for the average citizen to understand, much less believe, its emission reduction targets. It claims current policies will achieve a 36.2% reduction in emissions compared to 2005 in 2030, close to its minimum target of 40%. But when DeMarco's auditors examined a sampling of 20 of the government's 149 measures to cut emissions, they found only nine were on track to achieve their goals. Of 32 additional measures the government claimed would help boost reductions from 36.2% to at least 40% in 2030, only seven were new. The audit found cases where two different programs were funding the same projects and reporting the same expected emission reductions, raising the possibility of double-counting. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. It also reported the computer modelling used to estimate the emission cuts of various government programs wasn't updated in 2023 compared to 2022 and that some of the initial calculations were overly optimistic. In addition, 'recent decreases to projected 2030 emissions were not due to climate action taken by governments, but were instead because of revisions to the data used in modelling.' Given all this, if the Liberals under Prime Minister Mark Carney won't abandon unrealistic climate targets then they should at least come clean with Canadians about where things really stand. Read More This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. This as opposed to their current practice of insisting they're on track to meet their targets when the federal government's own data tell a very different story. It's the same problem with the Liberals' policy to mandate that 20% of all new car sales must be battery-electric, plug-in hybrid or hydrogen fuel cell starting next year, rising to 60% in 2030 and 100% in 2035. The auto sector has warned that given lagging EV sales in Canada, the only way to achieve the 2026 target would be to pull a million new gas-powered vehicles off the market, limiting consumer choice, increasing delivery times and driving up costs for consumers at a time when our auto sector is under siege from Donald Trump's tariffs. RECOMMENDED VIDEO Canada Crime Toronto & GTA Toronto Blue Jays Toronto Blue Jays
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Trump greets Putin with a red carpet. Ukrainians feel betrayed.
KYIV, Ukraine — In Kyiv, Ukrainians living under near daily Russian bombardment watched with astonishment as their country's most important ally rolled out a red carpet in Alaska for the man they blame for over three years of war, bloodshed and loss. Natalya Lypei, 66, a Kyiv resident, did a double-take. But the images flashing on her phone screen were real: U.S. President Donald Trump greeted Russian President Vladimir Putin warmly and clapped as the Russian leader approached him, after having been escorted into the country by four American fighter jets. Trump also ignored the arrest warrant issued for Putin by the International Criminal Court that has kept him mostly confined at home or in nations that are strong allies. 'How can you welcome a tyrant like that?' she asked, echoing the thoughts of many Kyiv residents. The red carpet treatment, the lack of concrete decisions for Ukraine and, most significantly, neglecting the significance of sanctions — a policy that could turn the tide in Kyiv's favor — have felt like a betrayal for Ukrainians who have borne enormous suffering in the almost three-and-a-half years since Russia's full-scale invasion. Tens of thousands of Ukrainian servicemen, the country's bravest and most skilled, have been killed and wounded, thousands of civilians have been killed in Russian strikes, and a fifth of the country is under occupation, severing families, properties and Ukraine's territorial integrity. On Ukrainian social media, memes of Putin and Trump walking down a red carpet strewn with dead Ukrainian bodies were widely shared. Zelenskyy had anticipated the meeting would be a boon for Putin and that there would be very little in the way of results. Speaking to reporters in the days leading up to the meeting, he said it would end up being a public relations victory for the Russian leader. Above all else, he was seeking a photo on American soil — which he got in Friday's meeting. It was the first time in a decade that Putin had stepped foot in the U.S., ending international isolation spurred by the 2022 Ukraine invasion; in other words, it was a win. For Lypei, whose serviceman son was killed last year, it was like attending another funeral, a fresh loss. This time, her country's hopes for a just peace. 'It hurts me a lot that my child died in a full-scale war, and today we saw a new funeral,' she said. Her 34-year-old son fought with Ukraine's 79th Brigade and was killed in the Donetsk region, the very area Putin wants Ukraine to vacate as a condition for a truce. 'I do not wish anyone that sorrow, that sadness, those tears,' she said. Natalya Cucil, 60, another Kyiv resident said she was surprised that Trump did not produce any results from the meeting, despite his stated efforts to end the war. 'There are no results and we don't know if there will be, although we always expect something and hope for it,' she said. Pensioner Anatolii Kovalenko, 72, said no matter what was discussed between the two leaders, it is clear his country's adversary has won in the sphere of public relations. 'Putin won this meeting 100 per cent,' he said. Samya Kullab And Alex Babenko, The Associated Press
Vancouver Sun
2 hours ago
- Vancouver Sun
Hajdu orders binding arbitration, resumption of operations to end Air Canada strike
OTTAWA — The federal government is intervening to resolve a labour dispute between Air Canada and the union representing flight attendants. Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu says she has directed the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order both parties to resume operations and resolve the dispute through binding arbitration. Passengers around the world are feeling the effects after the union representing more than 10,000 flight attendants with Air Canada announced its members were walking off the job after it was unable to reach an eleventh-hour deal with the airline. The strike officially began just before 1 a.m. ET on Saturday and in turn, Air Canada locked out its agents about 30 minutes later due to the strike action. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Hajdu said that was already causing 'significant harm' and having negative impacts on Canadians and the national economy. Air Canada cancelled more than 600 flights over the past two days in preparation for a potential work stoppage, and Hajdu says it could be days before service returns to normal. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
