Monday evening, in what was once a Bank of Montreal, Prime Minister Mark Carney dined across from his guest of honour, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, whom he seated next to former prime minister Stephen Harper.
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he → din → Harper
It is not the first time Carney has signalled close ties to Harper.
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Carney → signal → Harper
In September, Harper gave the closing remarks at Carney’s Canada Investment Summit in Toronto, where he framed Carney’s agenda as a continuation of his own.
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he → give → own
As Carney hosted the Crown Prince in Ottawa, in a Vancouver Federal Courtroom, where a group of young people are taking the government to task for failing to live up to its climate commitments, a government lawyer echoed Conservative talking points as they argued against a law Justin Trudeau’s Liberals passed intended to tie the hands of future governments on climate action.
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Liberals → host → action
Federal lawyer BJ Wray repeatedly told Justice Simon Fothergill that “climate change is a global problem that can only be remedied with a global solution.”
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that → tell → solution
For 20 years, Conservatives have said the same thing.
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Conservatives → say → thing
“Climate change is a global problem that requires a global solution,” former government house leader Peter Van Loan said in the House of Commons in 2007.
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Loan → require → 2007
“Climate change is a big international problem,” Harper said back in 2011.
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Harper → say → 2011
He suggested Canada had a role to play.
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Canada → suggest → role
His government set greenhouse gas emission reduction targets but failed to meet them.
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government → set → them
In court, Wray argued Canada has no obligation to mitigate against the impacts of climate change in a particular way.
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Canada → argue → way
“The evidence in this case will show the harms are not inflicted by the government,” Wray said.
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Wray → show → government
Not even partially?” the judge asked.
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judge → ask → ?
And … the only way that it can be addressed is through those collective efforts,” Wray repeated, adding “neither can Canada address the reduction of domestic greenhouse gases on its own.”
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Canada → address → own
The Carney government is arguing in court that the Charter does not encompass the right to a safe climate, and that the government is not bound by its own law — the Net-Zero Accountability Act — although it was purposefully designed to impose legally binding targets.
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it → argue → targets
In introducing the legislation, then environment minister Jonathan Wilkinson said the Liberals promised to “create a legally binding process for all future governments to set national climate targets that will achieve the science-based goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.
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that → introduce → 2050
Bill C-12, the Canadian net-zero emissions accountability act, is the fulfilment of our commitment to Canadians to put these legally binding processes in place,” he said.
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he → put → place
In court, Wray suggested Canada’s emissions are on a downward trajectory — although studies show they are not, and are, in fact, projected to increase.
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they → suggest → fact
The latest report from the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development tabled Thursday found Canada is not on pace to meet its target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40 to 45 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, and that Canada is even further from the target because the federal government “has cancelled or weakened several measures from its 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan.”
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government → table → Plan
The commissioner also suggested Health Canada needs to do more follow-through on harmful pesticides just as the Carney government is pushing an omnibus budget bill that ends mandatory re-evaluation of pesticides.
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that → suggest → pesticides
That bill, C-31, is increasingly facing push back from civil society; same with C-39, the government’s controversial Building Canada Strong Act, which now has the Canadian Bar Association warning that safeguards are needed to address Indigenous rights and the environmental protections so that the approvals the government wants on projects are not legally vulnerable.
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government → face → projects
Labour groups upset with C-39’s infringement on the right to strike are setting up a “war room,” warning that Carney risks “triggering years of labour conflict and costly constitutional challenges.”
But Wednesday, Carney showed he doesn’t care when he voted in person against an NDP motion, supported by the Conservatives, that sought to remove s.107 from Canada Labour Code — the minister’s contested ability to end strikes.
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that → upset → strikes
That image is bound to be repeated in election ads.
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image → bind → ads
On Friday, at 4 p.m., the government sent the same message — that it does not care about C-39 opposition, when it announced the listing of the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 as a project of national interest, a designation that will allow it to amend and, if C-39 passes, remove environmental conditions placed upon the already-approved project — to protect the Southern Resident Killer Whales, for example.
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C-39 → send → example
These are far from the only controversial measures revealed last week.
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These → reveal → measures
Despite encouraging free visits to Canada’s national park, the Carney government told 2,917 Parks Canada employees — in places such as Banff, Jasper and Gros Morne — two-thirds of the workforce, that their jobs are at risk.
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jobs → encourage → risk
The head of the Major Projects Office, Dawn Farrell revealed to MPs that her office has staff paid by private sector to do government work — but, so far, the government has refused to say what companies are involved and how many employees are affected.
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employees → reveal → work
Carney has a majority, is popular, and is flooding the media with several announcements each day.
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Carney → have → announcements
But, just like with Harper, much more is happening behind the scenes than what the government is putting up in the display window.
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government → happen → window
The Aporia
