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Ottawa – The Canadian Senate recently voted 43 to 32 to kill Bill C-311, the Climate Change Accountability Act. In a short-notice vote, in which many senators were not sitting, the appointed senate stopped the passage of legislation that had been passed through the elected House of Commons.
“What happened to Bill C-311 shows just how far the current government will go to prevent Canada from taking action on climate change,” says Emelia Koberg, an organizer with Climate Justice Ottawa. “To have a body appointed by the current government kill legislation, even after it has passed in the House in of Commons is setting a dangerous precedent.”
Yesterday morning, six people were arrested and charged with trespassing for staging a peaceful “People’s Assembly” protest inside of the Rotunda of Parliament. They also dropped a banner from the second floor that read “If They Won’t Get to Work on Climate Justice, We Will!” while others rallied outside to echo their demands.
The organizers delivered five demands to Members of Parliament that outlined concrete steps that the Government needs to take to avoid catastrophic climate change that endangers life and well being of people across Canada and around the globe.
“This move on behalf of the Conservative government shows just how important directly confronting this government’s inaction is,” explains Natasha Peters, who was arrested in Parliament yesterday. “Even with all the phone calls, letters and lobbying, the government still isn’t listening, so what else can we do except bring the message right to them?”
Organizers with both Climate Justice Ottawa and Climate Justice Montreal are calling for the immediate repeal of the Senate decision, and a commitment from all politicians to implement the five steps to Climate Justice delivered at yesterday’s People’s Assembly within six months.
“Bill C-311 is not enough, the targets in its test allow for temperature rise that would be devastating to the Canadian Arctic and lead to the death and displacement of hundreds of thousands globally, but it is a major step in the right direction” said Cameron Fenton, an organizer with Climate Justice Montreal. “It is a show of good faith, and one that a country with as poor a record on Climate as Canada has desperately needs.”
The action yesterday was the second time that organizers with Climate Justice Ottawa and Climate Justice Montreal took action together. Organizers were arrested last December for occupying a House of Commons Environment Committee meeting during the Copenhagen climate talks.
Related articles
- Poll suggests Harper Government out of step with Canadians (thegreenpages.ca)
- Canadian Conservative Senators Use their Clout to Kill Climate Bill Passed by House of Commons (desmogblog.com)
- Canada: NDP outraged as Senate kills climate-change bill (vancouversun.com)
- Senate kills opposition bill to tackle climate change (ctv.ca)
- Canada’s Federal Government campaigning against climate policies: report (thegreenpages.ca)
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