Mourning a lost decade of environment action -
Ten years ago then Environment Minister Christine Stewart negotiated and signed the Kyoto accord. The decade since has seen very little movement on the opportunity she saw for Canada to meet its
obligations and gain prosperity at the same time

By Suzanne Atkinson, Special to Ontario Farmer, Tuesday, February 27, 2007

The gentle-spoken grandmother asks once more of her grand-daughter
"Mimi, are you sure you don't need lessons? We can get you lessons."

At the base of the bunny-hill at nearby Kirby the little girl answers
with determination. Snowboard on one foot, she heads up the lift for
another try. Christine Stewart watches with a smile, chats with an
old friend, then retires to the chalet where Mimi will find her in an
hour's time; the mysteries of snowboarding solved.

Ten years ago Christine Stewart would not have strode anonymously
through this hillside setting.

With concern about the Kyoto accord growing; and Canada's response to
its own commitments questioned almost daily; the former environment
minister who negotiated and signed the accord for Canada has slipped
silently into anonymity. Her commitment has not waned; her vision may
yet unfurl, but it has been derailed for the past ten years by a
government which did not understand the far-reaching opportunities of
environmental issues and allowed itself to be swayed by short-term
economic cost.

"I saw climate change as being something of a panacea for the whole
world. But we've waited ten years too long."

"The Minister of Finance could never find money for Kyoto which was a
terrible disappointment to me. But politics is all about politics. If
health is where you're going to win the election, then people focus
on health."

"I was trying to stimulate the economy... But the mentality was
environment is not where you're going to go."

She sighs. Criticism doesn't come easy to Christine Stewart.

Frustration she can deal with.

"I had my turn," she says. She speaks with passion and fervor of what
might have been; how Canada's Kyoto commitments could have been met
by a combination of domestic measures which balanced development of
the prairie oil-fields with energy-saving initiatives. Then
internationally, she says, Canada could have reaped more benefits by
formulating new technologies to be implemented in developing nations.

"If it's cheaper to reduce a ton of green house gas in schools then
industry... to me a ton reduced is a ton reduced and you should take
advantage of it. If it's cheaper to reduce a ton in China, then do it
in China," says Stewart who felt handcuffed by the Elizabeth Mays and
David Suzukis who campaigned that all of Canada's commitments had to
be fulfilled domestically.

A response 10 years ago when Kyoto was signed would have kick-started
a brand new environmentally friendly industry; would have fostered
the establishment then of green energy and established Canada as the
world leader.

Instead, she says, with industry poised to leap, it was her own
Liberal government which stalled.

"We had all these tables, and the object was you had to come to a
consensus. Give me a break, we needed leadership. Once we had a level
playing field, then we could go for challenges."

"But once industry realized after a year that government wasn't doing
anything then they stopped," she says. One industry vice-president
even told her that he had been prepared to do more, "but there were
no signals from government."

She notes Stephan Dionne was the federal/provincial minister at the
time and he was against Kyoto.

"When the prime minister only gets crap from everybody, why is he
going to be supportive?" asks Stewart. Today, she sighs, Europe is
"way ahead of us. Way ahead."

"If we had supported the idea, we could have been going gang-busters
in developing the technology," says Stewart who points out that
Canada could have developed clean coal technologies for use in China,
solar powered stoves for cooking in Third World nations. And the
Kyoto commitment would have been fulfilled.

"If you do some work, you get a credit," she says. "I said the
majority of our work would be done here at home."

Stewart today says that though Chretien was a tremendous leader at
the cabinet table, "He didn't get environment."

She also says Natural Resources minister Ralph Goodall accompanied
her to "reassure," the domestic oil industry because of the
tremendous amount of "pushback," Kyoto was getting.

But the House of Commons continued to be plagued by politicians
posturing that "Kyoto would bankrupt the country."

"I talked about the opportunity."

By 1999 Stewart's husband had been diagnosed with cancer. She had
been removed from cabinet and had to forego a trip to China which she
was hopeful could have opened more doors for partnerships, after she
had hosted the Chinese Environment Minister and a delegation to her
home shortly after they toured the Darlington Generating Station.

Today she watches silently, not speaking out.

"The attitude will be, you had your turn," she anticipates.

"That's not to say I'm not terribly frustrated."

Once industry realized after a year that government wasn't doing
anything then they stopped," says Stewart. One industry vice-
president even told her that he had been prepared to do more, "but
there were no signals from government."

© Copyright 2007 Ontario Farmer

The Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada (OACC) wishes to thank Ontario Farmer for permission to reproduce this article on our website.

 

Posted March 2007