Ex MP wants legal action against Ottawa after Kyoto breach
Daniel Turp plans legal challenge against Conservative government
CBC News
Posted: Jan 4, 2012 6:49 PM ET
Last Updated: Jan 4, 2012 7:04 PM ET
Former Bloc MP Daniel Turp says he plans to take legal action against Ottawa for withdrawing from the Kyoto Protocol. (CBC)
Related
Related Links
A former Quebec politician is planning legal action against the Conservative government for pulling out of the Kyoto Protocol, calling the move unconstitutional.
Daniel Turp, a former Parti Québécois MNA and Bloc MP, said he is going to ask the federal court to block Ottawa's controversial decision, and is calling on Canadians to join his legal campaign.
"It's not abiding by the law, or the law on the books," said Turp, referring to the Kyoto Implementation Act passed by the House of Commons in 2007.
Turp, who now teaches international and constitutional law at the University of Montreal, launched an online petition for Canadians to support his plan because he believes "citizens should have a voice."
Turp isn't the first to accuse the Conservative government of breaking federal law over its Kyoto decision.
In December, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May accused Prime Minister Stephen Harper of flouting Canada's international commitments by withdrawing from the greenhouse gas emissions treaty.
After attending the UN climate change conference in South Africa last month, Environment Minister Peter Kent announced that Canada was pulling out of Kyoto because of the state of the economy.
The Durban, South Africa, conference concluded with countries agreeing to launch a new round of talks on a different climate change accord.
A spokesperson from Environment Canada told CBC News that the government intends to repeal the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act.
Share Tools
Omnibudget Liveblog: C-38 goes to committee -- and subcommittee, too! by Kady O'Malley May. 28, 2012 6:01 PM Bill supporters dominate first day's witness list
Top News Headlines
- B.C. police shooting video sparks calls for new probe
- Amateur video of the shooting of a mentally ill Vancouver man five years ago has prompted calls for B.C.'s police complaint commissioner and Crown prosecutors to take another look at the case. more »
- 'Engine shutdown' forced Air Canada jet to land
- A Japan-bound Air Canada Boeing 777 made an emergency landing at Toronto's Pearson airport on Monday, after one of its engines failed. more »
- CP Rail union, Tories battle over collective bargaining
- The federal Conservatives are defending their plan to force striking Canadian Pacific Railway employees back to work as a way to keep the economy on track, while the union representing 4,800 workers says their collective bargaining rights are under attack. more »
- Quebec student talks resume amid continuing protests
- A new round of negotiations between students and Quebec's Liberal government over the province's tuition-fee crisis extended into the night, while thousands took to the street in protest, leading to dozens of arrests. more »
Latest Politics News Headlines
- CP Rail union, Tories battle over collective bargaining
- The federal Conservatives are defending their plan to force striking Canadian Pacific Railway employees back to work as a way to keep the economy on track, while the union representing 4,800 workers says their collective bargaining rights are under attack. more »
- Opposition vows to keep up pressure on budget bill
- Opposition MPs returned to Ottawa this morning after a week in their constituencies and said Canadians aren't happy about the budget bill. The Liberals and NDP promised to keep trying to get the Conservatives to back down on it. more »
- Tory MP asks Supreme Court to uphold Toronto riding result
- Conservative MP Ted Opitz will appeal an Ontario Superior Court decision overturning the 2011 federal election result in Toronto's Etobicoke Centre. more »
- Mulcair softens message before Alberta oilsands visit
- Tom Mulcair is dialling back the NDP's anti-oilsands rhetoric as he prepares for his first visit to Alberta's massive, unconventional petroleum deposits. more »
The National
The House
- Qc students open the door to compromise May. 28, 2012 3:37 PM This week on The House, Evan Solomon explores the ongoing student protests in Quebec. The conflict that began as a disagreement between certain student associations and the provincial government over tuition hikes seems to have morphed into something larger. Evan talks to Leo Bureau-Blouin, the president of Quebec's College Student Federation, about the ongoing dispute. Then, Quebec's Finance Minister Raymond Bachand talks about what it will take to resolve the conflict, and if an election is the only solution.
- Evolution skeptics will soon be silenced by science: Richard Leakey
- 'Engine shutdown' forced Air Canada jet to land
- Richard Branson suggests naked kitesurfing to premier
- RCMP commissioner pledges to rid force of 'bad apples'
- Man, woman shot dead in Burnaby restaurant
- Thunder Bay flooding causes state of emergency
- 7 mutilated cats found in Vancouver suburb
- Newly discovered malware most lethal cyberweapon to date
- Coast guard cuts prompt formal B.C. complaint
