By Peter Ormond

With a single legislative blow, the Harper government destroyed decades of environmental protections, with no debate, by rolling changes to 70 different laws into an ‘omnibus’ budget. How ending the process of environmental assessments is a budgetary matter is beyond me, but I know it’s not what Canadians want.

Of course, this is only one example over years of attacks on Canada’s environmental protection. Today Canada is recognized as having the worst climate policies in the industrialized world.

Not being content to destroy decades of environmental protections while in office, the Harper government is committed to hamstringing the next seven governments after his from doing anything about it in order to maximize another nation’s profits. FIPA could effectively ‘lock in’ Canada’s newly weakened environmental regulations for the next 31 years.

Future governments could revisit the legislative changes by the Harper government, but if they affect Chinese interests in comparison to what is on the books now, we have to pay. How much? According to the terms just agreed to by Ottawa, the sky’s the limit.

Equally troubling is the profoundly anti-democratic way in which the Harper government has chosen to finally ratify the deal. Despite having two years of opportunity since the signing of the FIPA, there has been just one hour of discussion at the trade committee, no vote in Parliament, and no public consultations on the deal. Worse yet, the ratification comes while the Hupacasath First Nation’s legal challenge on the constitutionality of the agreement is still being considered by the Federal Court of Appeal, with a decision on the case expected any day.

The way the deal is structured, it can’t be undone, even if the Canadian courts find it to be unconstitutional, without consent from China. More significantly, it overrides existing treaty obligations to Canada’s First Nations, allowing Chinese investors to force the Canadian government to grant access to aboriginal lands that are technically not Canadian territory.

Perhaps the most troubling aspect of having the most destructive environmental policies on Earth and having a government actively engaged in undermining international efforts to deal with climate change lies in the fact that the increasingly horrific impacts of climate change we see in the world around us today are the direct result of greenhouse gas emissions from the 1980s, because of the ‘climate lag’ effect. Once we finally collectively choose to take serious climate action, things will still get worse for decades. How long are we going to let this go on? Every day we delay will cost lives.

So while many Canadians look at what the Harper government has done to our democracy, to our sovereignty, and to our environment, I will be an old man before the fallout finishes settling on us.

It’s time for real leadership on the real challenges we face. If Canadians go to the polls to vote out of fear (which I don’t recommend, I personally believe in voting pro-actively for someone who gives you hope), can we at least vote out of rational concern for real climate danger that will impact every single one of us, instead of the boogie-man of terrorism that thus far has barely touched our shores, but seems likely to worsen under Harper brand militarism?

About Peter Ormond: Peter Ormon is a Green Party candidate for Hamilton, ON, who has taught courses related to engineering, renewable energy, business and the environment at various institutions including Mohawk College and McMaster University. Nationally, Peter is a past board member of the Canadian Solar Industries Association, and a former member of the Canada’s Energy Efficiency Working Group expert roundtable. Peter is actively engaged in the greening of Hamilton, and a member of many local organizations