Environmental destruction

The good news is that the Cons still haven't explicitly overturned their supposed commitment to the Kyoto Protocol. The bad news is that they're apparently trying to outdo even in the Libs in avoiding any substantive action, as the Cons have cut all funding for the One Tonne Challenge without explanation or consultation:

The new Conservative government in Ottawa has abruptly stopped funding groups across the country that have been promoting the One Tonne Challenge, the quirky program to persuade Canadians to do their bit to help the environment by cutting their greenhouse gas emissions...

Environmental groups that received contracts to urge people in local communities to participate in the challenge were hastily contacted by Environment Canada officials earlier this week, and told that as of this morning, their efforts were no longer being funded...

The story was similar in Quebec. “We got clear indications from the Ministry of Environment that we cannot publicize the One Tonne Challenge, so all the material we had printed, all the advertisements we had, had to be put on hold,” said Hugo Séguin, a member of Equiterre, an environmental group overseeing the program in Quebec.

The closest anybody has provided to an explanation is one Ambrose spokesman who claims the Cons are "reviewing" the current climate-change programs and haven't made any funding decisions yet. But there's no explanation as to why funding can't be continued on an interim basis while the study takes place - or indeed as to why Ambrose and her underlings haven't bothered to review the programs under their file in time for budgeting.

If we've learned anything from the Libs' woeful record on Kyoto, it's that the surest way to avoid making any progress is to study the issue to death. And that strategy looks even worse when it means a sudden end to existing structures, rather than merely a delay in building new ones.