The Canadian Conservative government has been a staunch opponent of the Kyoto Accords. Although Canada is a signatory to the accords it has failed to meet the targets. The former Liberal government had a much more positive rhetoric on environmental issues than the Conservatives but did not manage to actually meet its goals.
The Green party has one representative in the Canadian parliament but one lone representative can do little to influence policy. At one time the Liberals campaigned on what was called the Green Shift but Stefan Dion the Liberal leader who led the campaign failed at the polls and the Liberals dropped the environmental rhetoric and Dion as well. Their next leader did not emphasize the environment but did even worse at the polls.
Both the Climate Action Network and Greenpeace have been critical of Canada at the Durban conference for doing little to protect the environment. The Alberta Oil Sands development is a particular target of many environmentalists. The processes of extracting the oil add considerably more greenhouse gases to the environment than conventional production.
Many critics think that Canada will pull out of the Kyoto protocols. Peter Kent the minister responsible for the environment has refused to confirm or deny that Canada intends to do. However he did characterize the protocols as being in the past. He said the former Liberal government made a blunder in even signing the pact. This stance earned Canada the fossil of the day award. For more see this article.
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