On developing movements

Both Ontario and Quebec are rightfully pointing out that the Cons' Unclear Air Act falls far short of even the Libs' pitiful actions against global warming by including no funding at all to enable provinces to cut their greenhouse gas emissions:

Canada's two biggest provinces are upset that the Conservative clean air plan doesn't mention multi-million-dollar promises made by the previous Liberal government to help curb air pollution.

Ontario and Quebec say they expect the Tories to pay up. The Clean Air Act released this week contained many promises of consultation and regulation, but there was no word of federal funding to help provinces move to a low-polluting economy...

Ontario had a $538 million agreement with the federal government to help close the province's dirty coal-fired power plants. Closing the plants would cut greenhouse emissions by 30 megatonnes annually, said Broten.

"We've committed to close coal. That's the single largest greenhouse gas reduction initiative in North America."...

Quebec had been counting on $328 million promised by the government to help finance the provincial climate plan, but unlike Ontario it did not have a formal agreement.

Federal Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon, the political minister for Quebec, has said the promise is off, but Quebec Environment Minister Claude Bechard continues to press the issue.

"We are not giving up," said Bechard's spokesman Pascal D'Astous.

Other provinces were also looking for money from the now-defunct $10-billion fund, and hope the current government has not said the last word on funding for clean air.

It seems far too likely that the last word has indeed been said for as long as the Cons stay in power, as the issue will be left on the back burner for several years of consultation and probably ignored at that point. But then, there's always the option of replacing the Cons with a more sensible government before we reach that point...and with the provinces recognizing just how much worse the fiscal imbalance is becoming as a result of the Cons' all-responsibility, no-funding strategy, that may become a reality all the sooner.