愛污传媒

Politics

    • Don Martin: Trudeau government takes a chainsaw to its tree-planting promise

    Share

    Through all the confusion, controversy and consultations, one giant green hope stood out in Canada鈥檚 fight against climate change: We鈥檒l always have the trees.

    Two billion carbon-absorbing trees to be planted by 2030 was the eye-catching Trudeau government promise from four years ago.

    It made so much more sense than everything else. There鈥檇 be none of this carbon-taxing of energy linked to a promised rebate of all the tax we鈥檇 paid, which would somehow radically alter our emissions-belching behaviour. Or pumping carbon deep underground in hopes it stays there. Or paying $13 billion in tax support for a foreign-owned car battery plant.

    This was a common-sense project the nation could get behind; the creation of a massive carbon sponge with the double bonus of growing it into eye-pleasing scenery and a habitat for animals as tree plantings turned into forests.

    But according to the released on Thursday, that green dream has foundered on this government鈥檚 go-slow-if-at-all approach to doing everything coupled with bureaucratic inertia and an intergovernmental lack of timely co-operation.

    Four years after the idea first took root, the commissioner has identified a mind-reeling list of failures which makes it 鈥渦nlikely that the program will meet its objectives."

    For starters, only 1.5 per cent of the target has been reached after two years in operation. Of the 200 applications for tree plantings received to date, just 28 agreemeents have been signed to plant a severely modest 2.2 million trees.

    In his most optimistic view, assuming all signed agreements are implemented, 鈥渢he program would be projected to plant 76.2-million trees by the end of the program, or 3.8 per cent of the overall two-billion tree goal,鈥 commissioner Jerry DeMarco wrote.

    The odds of success are further bogged down by logistics that should鈥檝e been thought out before the project was announced and now show little sign of being addressed.

    The nurseries, which must grow a collective 350 million seedlings per year to meet the target, are understandably hesitant to plant without long-term assurances their product will have a buyer. So far, those assurances are not forthcoming - and neither are the saplings.

    Most of the few signed partner agreements don鈥檛 have stipulations allowing the government to monitor if the planted trees are still standing after five years of growth.

    What鈥檚 worse, the program allows industrial partners to claim carbon offsets for the trees they plant as a substitute for throttling back their smokestacks. In other words, it鈥檚 a zero net gain in emission reductions.

    And while there has been some recent progress in signing provincial and territorial partners, which are responsible for planting 1.34 billion trees in the plan, that handful of agreements are short-term and plant a relatively small number of trees.

    While this report reads like an advance obituary for the program, it鈥檚 not like there isn鈥檛 political commitment from on high.

    I was reliably told of an incident last summer when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined a group of Liberal staffers and their friends on a patio in downtown Ottawa. Trudeau promptly killed the party mood by delivering a prolonged scientific dissertation on the impressive amount of carbon that could be stored in a single tree.

    So he gets the concept, he鈥檚 boss of a government that planted the idea and clearly has the money to buy a massive cross-Canada planting project that would deliver far more bang for the carbon-reduction buck than those eye-watering subsidies for a car battery plant.

    Yet his government, which is overdue for regime change into one that would be far less enthusiastic about continuing to nurture this Liberal project along, seems to be putting little effort into growing the idea.

    Part of the blame is undoubtedly Trudeau鈥檚 overwhelmed office of control freaks, who refuse to delegate power and have thus turned a firehose of incoming decision-making into a trickle-hose of outflowing action.

    But most of the slowdown seems to be inside a bureaucracy that is conducting excessive consultations on the project, including a gender analysis study, before putting shovels in the ground.

    That鈥檚 creating a missed opportunity to lead Canadians and inspire individuals to participate in a project that would deliver substantial carbon reduction in the long term.

    I digress, but there鈥檚 a conservation area near my Ontario hometown where I helped plant thousands of seedlings as a Cub scout a very long time ago. I often walk there now to marvel at the towering forest of pine and spruce that stand on that former field.

    I suspect Canadians, particularly kids, would seize on tree-planting as a tangible way to help the environment - if only Trudeau鈥檚 government wasn鈥檛 taking a slow-motion chainsaw to the project before it takes root.

    That鈥檚 the bottom line鈥

    IN DEPTH

    Opinion

    opinion

    opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike

    When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.

    CTVNews.ca Top Stories

    Israel launches strikes on military targets in Iran, escalating Mideast wars

    Israel pounded Iran with a series of airstrikes early Saturday, saying it was targeting military targets in retaliation for the barrage of ballistic missiles the Islamic Republic fired upon Israel earlier this month. Explosions could be heard in the Iranian capital, Tehran, though there was no immediate information on damage or casualties.

    Canada Post driver Rick Harper recounts how he and others helped save a woman from a Tesla that caught fire after crashing into a guardrail on Lake Shore Boulevard.

    Canada

    • The Provincial Archives of New Brunswick (PANB) has uploaded dozens of dashboard camera videos from the 1970s to their YouTube channel.

    • Canada Post driver Rick Harper recounts how he and others helped save a woman from a Tesla that caught fire after crashing into a guardrail on Lake Shore Boulevard.

    • A Canadian navy missile test was aborted mid-flight this week after controllers lost communication with the projectile off the coast of southern California.

    • A former Alberta teacher has been sentenced to four years for sexually abusing a student.

    World

    Politics

    Health

    Sci-Tech

    Entertainment

    Business

    Lifestyle

    Sports

    Autos

    Local Spotlight

    A new resident at a Manitoba animal rescue has waddled her way into people's hearts.

    Hundreds of people ran to the music of German composer and pianist Beethoven Wednesday night in a unique race in Halifax.

    He is a familiar face to residents of a neighbourhood just west of Roncesvalles Avenue.

    A meteor lit up our region's sky last night 鈥 with a large fireball shooting across the horizon over Lake Erie at around 7:00 p.m.

    Residents of Ottawa's Rideauview neighbourhood say an aggressive wild turkey has become a problem.

    A man who lost his life while trying to rescue people from floodwaters, and a 13-year-old boy who saved his family from a dog attack, are among the Nova Scotians who received a medal for bravery Tuesday.

    A newly minted Winnipegger is hoping a world record attempt will help bring awareness for the need for more pump track facilities in the city.

    A Springfield, Ont. man is being hailed a 'hero' after running into his burning home to save his two infant children.

    Hortense Anglin was the oldest graduate to make her way across the platform at York University's Fall Convocation ceremony this week. At the age of 87, she graduated with an Honours degree in Religious Studies.

    • The final count of ballots in the 2024 B.C. election begins Saturday, with more than 66,000 mail-in and absentee votes potentially yet to be counted across the province's 93 electoral districts.

    • There were tense moments at a ferry terminal outside Victoria, B.C., on Friday after the lion鈥檚 share of standby spots on an early sailing were claimed by 鈥渁ssured loading鈥 passengers 鈥 leaving regular customers who had been waiting for hours out of luck.

    • The countdown to the arrival of Taylor Swift鈥檚 Eras Tour is on, with three dates planned in Vancouver this December - and some condo owners are looking to cash in on the fan frenzy.

    • Canada Post driver Rick Harper recounts how he and others helped save a woman from a Tesla that caught fire after crashing into a guardrail on Lake Shore Boulevard.

    • One person has been rushed to the hospital following a shooting in North York.

    • A CAMH staff member has been seriously injured after being stabbed by a co-worker Friday night.

    • The Alberta legislature is set to reconvene on Monday and the Danielle Smith government will be providing more details about its plans for the session.

    • A person is dead in the aftermath of a traffic incident in Calgary's northeast on Friday evening.

    • An investigation into the death of a man in Calgary police custody earlier this month has concluded that officers did not contribute to his death and that he was cared for properly.

    • Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) say a 14-year-old boy from Bridgewater, N.S. is facing several charges in connection with threats made against a Catholic high school in eastern Ontario.

    • A Montreal man is charged with first-degree murder in connection to the stabbing death of a woman at a park in Ottawa鈥檚 south end on Thursday.

    • Ontario Provincial Police are investigating after a body was found in Perth, Ont. Friday afternoon.

    • Quebec's social services minister says he's outraged by reports that educators at a detention centre for youth in Montreal had sexual relations with minor detainees 鈥 and that one of the employees allegedly had a baby with a teenage resident.

    • Two minors were in court Friday to face charges after four teenagers were stabbed outside a Montreal high school.

    • Infectious disease specialists are concerned about a rise in the number of 'walking pneumonia' cases and that the disease is appearing in younger children.

    • A former Alberta teacher has been sentenced to four years for sexually abusing a student.

    • A second person has been charged in connection with the death of a man in the Kingsway area earlier this year.

    • The Alberta legislature is set to reconvene on Monday and the Danielle Smith government will be providing more details about its plans for the session.

    • The GoFundMe page for the family of an employee found dead at a Halifax Walmart last weekend has paused donations after almost $200,000 was raised in roughly 24 hours.

    • Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) say a 14-year-old boy from Bridgewater, N.S. is facing several charges in connection with threats made against a Catholic high school in eastern Ontario.

    • Eviction day is one week away and the number of tents in the median of University Avenue in Halifax is steadily decreasing ahead of the city-imposed deadline.

    • Winnipeg police are looking for a suspect after a woman's dorm room was broken into at the U of M and she was assaulted.

    • Repairs to the historic 110-year-old rail bridge at The Forks could come with a multi-million dollar price tag.

    • Manitoba RCMP are providing an update to a crash on Highway 1 that killed one person on Wednesday.

    • Saturday will mark the end of the CFL regular season, and the Saskatchewan Roughriders will have their eyes on Winnipeg鈥檚 matchup versus Montreal to know if they have a chance of clinching the West Division.

    • With an attempt to address the shortage of housing available in the community, the City of Yorkton has started a housing incentive program where new builders will receive a 50 per cent rebate on residential lots, and a full tax exemption for five years.

    • As the final day of voting for the Saskatchewan election inches closer, voters may be wondering when official winners will be declared.

    • Geovanny Villalba-Aleman, the man who stabbed three people in a gender studies class at the University of Waterloo, says he 鈥榓cted dumb鈥.

    • All the evidence has now been called at the trial of Erick Buhr, who has pleaded not guilty to second degree murder in the death of his grandmother, Viola Erb.

    • Residents spotted smoke coming from a waste management site in Waterloo on Friday afternoon.

    • A Saskatchewan woman is worried her child might die before receiving life-saving surgery and tests as he sits on the province's surgical waitlist.

    • The Saskatchewan RCMP is releasing the names of two suspects arrested on Thursday for a violent vehicle theft that triggered a widespread police search.

    • Police have still not confirmed the identity of a body discovered in Prince Albert last week.

    • The Town of Cochrane plans to roll out its $10-lot program in a month or two.

    • Two people 鈥 one from Timmins, the other from Kapuskasing -- have been fined more than $7,000 for camping violations, including empty septic tanks directly onto the ground.

    • The federal government is spending a significant amount of money to improve Indigenous student learning across Ontario.

    • A new staff report calls for homeless encampments to be allowed even closer to residential neighbourhoods, reducing the buffer zone from 100 metres to 25 metres.

    • London police have issued a warning to the public following an increased number of overdoses in the area of Queens Avenue and Adelaide Street North.

    • The London Knights picked up an overtime win at Canada Life Place Friday night.

    • Provincial police say there is an active investigation going on in the Town of Huntsville.

    • Several students have been banned from being spectators at school sporting events, and others suspended from school, after verbal and physical exchanges at a high school soccer game.

    • A 15-year veteran officer with the South Simcoe Police Service has been charged with discreditable conduct following an allegation of sexual assault.

    • The Windsor Police Service is investigating a suspicious death in south-central Windsor.

    • A Harrow school is memorializing two students and their mother, who were tragically killed in June.

    • The Gordie Howe International Bridge will serve as a new crossing for vehicles, but many walkers and cyclists are also excited about the opportunity to access the U.S. in a different way.

    • The final count of ballots in the 2024 B.C. election begins Saturday, with more than 66,000 mail-in and absentee votes potentially yet to be counted across the province's 93 electoral districts.

    • There were tense moments at a ferry terminal outside Victoria, B.C., on Friday after the lion鈥檚 share of standby spots on an early sailing were claimed by 鈥渁ssured loading鈥 passengers 鈥 leaving regular customers who had been waiting for hours out of luck.

    • Hulitan Early Years Centre is a brand new, 48-seat childhood learning centre in Colwood. It was built to support Indigenous children throughout the capital region.

    • More than two years after Alannah Brown and Douglas Barker were found dead north of Penticton, police are asking for help identifying a vehicle they believe was associated with the crime.

    • Dave Lindsey began growing giant pumpkins to bring a bit of magic to his grandkids' Halloween.

    • A U.S. District Court judge in Montana has sentenced a 27-year-old man from Kelowna, B.C., to 18 months in prison for using fake names to buy guns with the aim of selling them in Canada.

    • About 15,000 students are enrolled at Lethbridge鈥檚 post-secondary schools, and now the city is working with those schools to try to find ways to get them s to stick around a while.

    • With Halloween less than a week away, organizations in Lethbridge are preparing to get in on the trick-or-treating fun.

    • The City of Lethbridge is bringing forward a water conservation policy, the first of its kind for the city.

    • The union that represents hospital workers across the province is used a symbol from Greek mythology Friday in Espanola to drive home its campaign about the perils of privatization in health care.

    • CTV's Coats for Kids is nearing the end of its donation window, with the need as strong as it鈥檚 ever been.

    • The Anishinabek Police Service and the Ontario Provincial Police are investigating the circumstances around a death in Fort William First Nation.

    N.L.

    Stay Connected
    Follow 愛污传媒