A coalition of 11 of Canada's largest environmental groups posted four out of five party leaders' responses to key campaign questions today - but unfortunately Stephen Harper's are not among them.
The video clips, available at www.tomorrowtodaycanada.ca/election in English and French, provide answers from party leaders to six environmental questions.
"Our invitation went out to all parties, and we were delighted to receive responses from Mr. Dion, Mr. Duceppe, Mr. Layton and Ms. May," said Marlo Raynolds, Executive Director of the Pembina Institute. "Unfortunately, Mr. Harper did not provide answers about his climate and environment policies to Canadian voters."
To date, the Conservative Party has not released an environmental platform in this campaign; the party did make a campaign announcement on bitumen exports and bulk water. The Conservative Party also failed to respond to a policy questionnaire released last month in Montreal by six Québec-based environmental groups.
"Climate change and the environment are among voters' top concerns, and we deserve answers from each of the candidates for Prime Minister in order to make an informed choice on election day," said Dr. Raynolds. "The Conservative Party's failure to answer key environmental questions is very disappointing, especially when each of the other party leaders made the time to respond."
Visitors to the www.tomorrowtodaycanada.ca/election site will find 90-second responses from the leaders that describe how they personally became concerned about global warming, their plans to preserve Canada's wilderness areas, their approach to putting a price on pollution, and more.
The five leaders were also asked whether they would commit to renew and expand a key clean energy initiative, the ecoENERGY for Renewable Power program, in Budget 2009.
"Four of the five parties have committed to specific support for renewable energy, but the Conservative party has not said whether it will continue this crucial initiative," said Tim Weis, Director of Pembina's Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency program. "The industry will be in limbo until this program is renewed, and renewable power producers need a clear response from Stephen Harper."
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For more information, contact:
Marlo Raynolds, 403-607-9427 (cell)
Tim Weis, 613-601-6519 (cell)
The six environmental questions for party leaders can be downloaded here.
Six questions en français.