A growing movement

Another influential group has thrown its weight behind the need for Canada to follow through on its Kyoto commitments and more, as the Federation of Canadian Municipalities has committed to reductions far beyond those set out in Kyoto:

At its annual meeting in Montreal Saturday, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, representing 1,400 municipal leaders across Canada, adopted a policy statement supporting Canada's ratification of the Kyoto Protocol.

"Municipal governments commit themselves...to implementing policies and operational changes that will achieve a global reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 30 per cent by 2020 and 80 per cent by 2050, based on 1990 levels," the statement reads...

Lloyd Hines, chair of the FCM's standing committee on environmental issues, said the FCM hopes to be consulted on Harper's climate change plan, promised for this fall. He said FCM members are concerned about the environmental message the Harper government has sent so far.

"They are concerned that there may be some lessening of commitment on Kyoto and other environmental issues," Hines said.

For those wondering whether the mayors in fact receive the chance to make their concerns known to the federal government, rest assured that they'll get just as much direct interaction as most groups who inconveniently disagree with a Con position:

Environment Minister Rona Ambrose was to address the FCM's meeting today but has cancelled, citing a schedule conflict.

But even with the Cons trying their best to pretend that no meaningful action needs to be taken, the combined force of the FCM, the provinces who plan to meet or exceed their Kyoto reduction levels, and Canadians generally who recognize the need for action is something that the Cons will have trouble ignoring. Kudos to the FCM for keeping the momentum going.

Update: I'll deal with the substance of this article later, but take a look at the laughable excuse for Ambrose's cancellation:

Officials with Ambrose and in the Prime Minister's Office said her appearance was unnecessary after Prime Minister Stephen Harper decided to open the conference with a speech last Friday. They could not, however, explain why the official agenda had the two federal politicians speaking at different times.

Now, given Harper's commitment to stifling his cabinet ministers, it may well be true that Ambrose would have said absolutely nothing that Harper hadn't covered in his address. But even conceding that Ambrose had nothing useful to say, it would have made a lot more sense to plan for the consequences of a "one Con only" policy, rather than to leave the conference to deal with a last-minute cancellation.