All options

The Star reports that both the NDP and the Bloc are looking at ways to get the bulk of the amended C-30 to a vote in Parliament even if the Cons won't move the original bill any further:

Opposition parties are putting together a last-ditch effort to force the minority Conservative government into line with the majority of the House of Commons on the environment.

The New Democrats are quietly exploring whether they can make changes to a private member's bill on the environment introduced by party leader Jack Layton, known as the Climate Change Accountability Act. They want to include in that legislation some of the main features of the Clean Air Act, a government bill rewritten recently by opposition members on a parliamentary committee.

"The government is unwilling to do the right thing. They've brought forward their own plan and it's been derided by the people who follow this," said NDP environment critic Nathan Cullen (Skeena-Bulkley Valley). "They have no backing and we need to not throw away this Parliament in terms of doing something serious for the environment."...

Meanwhile, the Bloc Québécois is considering using its opposition day Tuesday to call on the government to bring the Clean Air Act before the House for a vote by all MPs.

Bloc environment critic Bernard Bigras (Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie) said a decision will be made today.

It'll only take one successful strategic move to ensure that a real emission reduction plan gets put into place - and the NDP's and Bloc's efforts each look to have a positive effect. But while the immediate efforts seem to reflect the best chance to pass the amended C-30 in the least time, I'm surprised to see that nobody appears to have yet introduced a new private member's bill consisting substantially of the amended C-30 as a backup plan in case the other processes don't work out.

That said, it's undoubtedly for the best that at least two opposition parties are working to win a Commons vote on a sorely-needed climate change plan. And hopefully the Libs will join in as well to make sure that an effective bill gets passed before the Cons are able to change the subject.