Black Friday for Climate Change
adam
Friday, March 31, 2006
Black Friday for Climate Change
Programs Cut, People Laid Off
(Ottawa) The Harper government has begun disassembling Canada's
Climate Change Program, the Sierra Club of Canada has learned. All
climate change programs announced in Action Plan 2000 have not been
renewed and Natural Resources Canada has begun laying off staff.
Included in the cuts is the Canadian Climate Impacts and Adaptation
Research Network (C-CIARN).
"Apparently, the federal government has launched a stealth campaign
against action on climate change," said John Bennett, Senior Policy
Advisor - Energy, Sierra Club of Canada.
C-CIARN was a national network that facilitates the generation of new
climate change knowledge. C-CIARN was set up to: improve knowledge of
Canada's vulnerabilities to climate change; identify ways to minimize
the negative effects of future impacts; and explore opportunities that
take advantage of any positive impacts.
"The Harper minority government has no mandate to destroy more than
decade's worth of research programs and knowledge networks needed to
provide a science-based response to climate change," Mr. Bennett
said. "If they want to do this and respect the democratic principles
they espouse, a public debate is needed and not silent backroom program
chopping.
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Sierra Club of Canada is continuing to assess the full impacts of these
events. For more information, please contact :
John Bennett
Senior Policy Advisor - Energy
Cell 613 291 6888
E-mail aa...@magma.ca