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economist sunlsuntribune environment saturday feb 12 2005 federal budget should reveal bymikeadler staff writer in 10 days york region residents should finally know how the feder al liberals plan to keep their word on climate change this months federal budget is key to fulfilling canadas pledge on the kyoto protocol which goes into effect wednesday and requires deep cuts in the greenhouse gases this country produces as parliamentary secretary to environment minister stephane dion richmond hill mp bryon wilfert said hes worked to make the budget a green one canada does not sign interna tional treaties such as kyoto unless we are prepared to meet those obli gations he said this week after telling finance minister ralph goodale his department which mr wilfert said has not offered canadians enough incentives to reduce fossilfuel use must step up to the plate in this budget critics have said the govern ment has not done much to ensure emission cuts in industries produc ing most of canadas greenhouse gases which scientists say are caus ing global warming as they collect in the earths atmosphere acknowledging this the govern ment is making it clear all sectors must do their part to meet kyoto goals mr wilfert said you can have incentives for early good behaviour and you can have a stick for bad behaviour he added yorksimcoe tory mp peter van loan however said he doesnt think the liberals really intend to honour their kyoto commitment the treaty canada signed in 1997 and ratified in 2002 is unbal anced and against canadas inter ests mr van loan said his party he added fears the liberal kyoto action plan will largely consist of giving money to places like russia for carbon cred its when the government should be investing to reduce pollution here we are going to pay money for the right to pollute to me thats a loselose mr wilfert replied buying car bon credits will install canadian green technology in places such as china india and brazil helping canadian companies gain experi ence in a growing market as kyoto takes effect reaction in york regions smallbusiness com munity has been muted despite continued statements from the canadian chamber of commerce that the governments greenhouse- gas reduction plans will drive investment to the united states which didnt sign the treaty divided over its ratification members of the richmond hill chamber of commerce are sim ply waiting to see what happens said vincent de angelis chairper son of the groups advocacy committee whitchurchstouffville cham ber president helene johnson said her members havent raised the issue but shes still concerned the united states is not involved you cant do it alone she noted the governments voluntary approach to industrial reductions has clearly failed said university of toronto professor doug macdon- ald environmental studies director at innis college when we say somethings seri ous and we really need to accom plish it we use law he said the government wasted five years by talking to industries in secret but its efforts to secure reductions have been more vigor ous lately said shawnpatrick sten- sil atmosphere and energy director for the sierra club of canada i think what were seeing is the governments getting its act together he said protocol ratified in 2002 most scientists agree human activi ties are warming the earth by pro- ducing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that trap heat in the atmosphere agreeing action was needed to reduce climate change canada attended a 1992 convention in rio brazil and in 1997 signed a treaty on greenhousegas reductions in kyoto japan canada ratified this kyoto protocol in 2002 and because enough countries also rati fied it kyoto goes into effect next week for kyoto canada pledgedto lower its greenhousegas emission to 6 per cent below 1990 levels but those levels have gone up 20 to 25 per cent since 1990 mmm vv 8 staff photosjoerd witteveen jack thornton and daughter melissa of holland landing received an award in the onetonne challenge at the windfall ecology centre in newmarket wednesday for exchanging an suv for a toyota prius which runs on gasoline and electricity groups efforts help canada battle climate change by mike adler staff writer driving a sport utility vehicle is nice jack thornton says but he did nt really need one and by trading in his gmc avalanche for a toyota prius the tim hortons owner from holland land ing completed the federal one- tonne challenge he had room to spare switch ing from his gasthirsty truck to the gasolineelectric hybrid sedan keeps five tonnes of greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere each year almost as much as the 55 tonnes the average canadian pro duces from all activities people now stop him to ask about the prius and mr thornton figures driving one sets a better example for his daughter melissa 10 i get a lot of laughs from friends of mine but its an amazing statement he said york region residents taking the challenge help canada meet its kyoto protocol commitments and lower their own energy bills with some simple changes said christina alcorn onetonne challenge co ordinator for windfall ecoworks windfall is a newmarket group encouraging people to try it its not going to affect our lives drastically she said people could start by installing compact fluorescent lightbulbs at home which is what michael bour geois family did in ballantrae it doesnt need as much power and its a brighter flare said the 11- yearold who points out his family will save money in the long run my house is totally full of them people can also carpool which daphne ross did she saved two tonnes a year by splitting the driving with a coworker between her man agerial job in markham and home in ballantrae the trip seems to go by a lot faster when you have someone to chat with said ms ross whose employer the town of markham guarantees a cab ride home if her ride leaves early you can also beat the challenge by letting a certified company do an energy audit of your home through the energuide for houses program carole houlihan of king town ship did and she eliminated 59 tonnes of greenhouse gases a year first an evaluator fitted her drafty house with a nylon blower door using a fan on it to depressurize the house and find the location of leaks he then walked her through her house showing ms houlihan where air was leaking from every room because she fixed the leaks putting a flap on the dryer sealing around cracks new weatherstrip- ping around the door and installed a highefficiency gas fur nace ms houlihan received a 1000 federal grant our heating bill is half of what it was she said the environmental group is encouraging people to take advan tage of such locally available pro grams and will recognize other peo ple who completed the challenge at its windfall ecology festival in june ms alcorn said to find out more about the challenge call 18006226232 or go to the federal governments climate change website wwwclimatechangegcca have beautiful sfl by 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