PM Trudeau to talk with Indigenous leaders on climate change

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the Northern Lights 2016 event in Ottawa last month. He’ll meet First Nations, Inuit and Métis leaders March 2 and with territorial and provincial premiers March 3 to talk about climate change. (PHOTO BY JIM BELL)

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, while stopping short of last year’s bold election promise on climate change, will still talk about the issue with First Nations, Inuit and Métis leaders in Vancouver March 2 and with Canada’s premiers March 3, the prime minister’s office announced Feb. 10.

The purpose of the March 3 first ministers meeting is to begin work with the provinces and territories on the “pan-Canadian framework on climate change” that, during last year’s federal election campaign, Trudeau’s Liberal party promised to create within 90 days of taking office.

But instead of setting new greenhouse gas emissions targets, it appears as if that promised first ministers meeting will simply get discussions started and focus on economic growth and adaptation to climate change as much as on mitigation.

“The meeting will focus on effective ways to adapt to climate change, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and capitalize on the opportunities presented by a low-carbon economy to create good-paying and long-term jobs,” the PMO said.

The PMO did, however, throw in some flowery rhetoric for the benefit of Indigenous people.

“Canada’s Indigenous peoples have a sacred relationship with the Earth. Their unique perspective will help guide us in developing policies that ensure our land, air and water are protected for future generations,” Trudeau said in a canned quote supplied with the PMO press release.

At the COP21 global climate change conference in Paris last December, the Trudeau government went to the meeting with greenhouse gas emissions targets that Leona Aglukkaq, the former Conservative environment minister, had announced in May 2015.

Under the Conservative targets, Canada would, by 2030, bring its greenhouse gas emissions down to 30 per cent below the country’s 2005 levels.

That would mean reducing annual emissions to about 524 megatonnes by 2030 from the 726 megatonnes recorded in 2013.

However, Canada is not even close right now to meeting that target.

Canada’s Second Biennial Report on Climate Change, which Environment Canada released Feb. 10, predicts GHG emissions in Canada are headed towards 768 megatonnes in 2020 and 815 megatonnes in 2030.

The Trudeau government, however, now promises to improve Canada’s woeful performance on climate change by relying on the provinces and territories to move towards a low carbon, clean energy economy, and the Liberals are signalling they may be content with meeting last year’s Conservative targets.

“The clean growth framework will be science-based and will build on actions the provinces and territories have already taken, so that Canada can meet — or exceed — its climate commitments,” the PMO said.

The PMO also said first ministers will “consider all policy measures at their disposal to make sure Canada can take advantage of the significant appetite for expertise in the clean growth economy.”

Also on Feb. 10, federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna announced $31.5 million in handouts to Canadian municipalities from the federal government’s Green Municipal Fund.