OTTAWA — Canada's environment minister doesn't sound at all disturbed that three of the top six most-viewed climate policy proposals on the federal government's consultation web site are profoundly off-message.
Throwing the climate-change policy doors wide open to public comment has been an interesting experiment for the new Liberal government in Ottawa, and Catherine McKenna considers it a resounding success — notwithstanding some sour notes.
"The IPCC (UN-sponsored scientific panel) has no evidence to support CO2 as the cause of global warming," headlines one of the site's most-viewed postings.
"Climate change a hoax," asserts another.
"OILSANDS ABOUT TO TURN TABLES ON CLIMATE ALARMISTS!" shouts a third.
Nearly 3,000 Canadians have registered to participate on the interactive website, where visitors can publicly post their ideas for all to see and comment on. There have been some 2,400 ideas submitted to date, generating almost 4,500 comments, according to analytics provided on the site.
The naysayers are generating a lot of traffic.
"That's great. I encourage everyone to go on there," McKenna told The Canadian Press in an interview when the climate skeptics were pointed out.
"Maybe people that may not have accepted the science that climate change is man-made, maybe they'll get a better understanding of how it is."
The public comments, McKenna said, are being fed into four working groups created this spring by Ottawa and the provinces and territories. The groups are each looking at a different area of climate policy — from carbon pricing and clean-tech industry finance to mitigating the effects of a changing climate.
McKenna said she'll get an interim update report from the working groups this week. Final reports are due at the beginning of September, when environment ministers will meet to choose a set of policy options for a formal meeting of the premiers and prime minister later in the fall.
Top suggestions on Trudeau government climate change policy portal slam it as a hoax - NewsHubNation
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Throwing the climate-change policy doors wide open to public comment has been an interesting experiment for the new Liberal government in Ottawa, and Catherine McKenna considers it a resounding success — notwithstanding some sour notes.
"The IPCC (UN-sponsored scientific panel) has no evidence to support CO2 as the cause of global warming," headlines one of the site's most-viewed postings.
"Climate change a hoax," asserts another.
"OILSANDS ABOUT TO TURN TABLES ON CLIMATE ALARMISTS!" shouts a third.
Nearly 3,000 Canadians have registered to participate on the interactive website, where visitors can publicly post their ideas for all to see and comment on. There have been some 2,400 ideas submitted to date, generating almost 4,500 comments, according to analytics provided on the site.
The naysayers are generating a lot of traffic.
"That's great. I encourage everyone to go on there," McKenna told The Canadian Press in an interview when the climate skeptics were pointed out.
"Maybe people that may not have accepted the science that climate change is man-made, maybe they'll get a better understanding of how it is."
The public comments, McKenna said, are being fed into four working groups created this spring by Ottawa and the provinces and territories. The groups are each looking at a different area of climate policy — from carbon pricing and clean-tech industry finance to mitigating the effects of a changing climate.
McKenna said she'll get an interim update report from the working groups this week. Final reports are due at the beginning of September, when environment ministers will meet to choose a set of policy options for a formal meeting of the premiers and prime minister later in the fall.
Top suggestions on Trudeau government climate change policy portal slam it as a hoax - NewsHubNation
related
View or Submit Ideas