OTTAWA — Environmental programs intended to curb health threats will have their budgets slashed by nearly 15 per cent over the next three years — a move the Opposition says makes the Conservatives look “delusional.”
Overall, Environment Canada is bracing for cuts of $79.3 million over three years, dropping its budget to $918.3 million in 2014-15 from $997.6 this year, according to the department’s planning report tabled this week in the House of Commons.
One of the department’s stated goals is to mitigate any harm pollution could cause to Canadians and their environment. Two of the programs designed to do exactly that — one through controlling waste management, the other through monitoring greenhouse gas emissions and improving air quality — are seeing their budgets slashed by 14 per cent and 11 per cent respectively between now and 2015.
Environment Canada’s report — a document all departments release annually to project financial and human resources for the next three years — also indicates at least 109 full-time jobs will be chopped.
The consistent stripping away of bodies and financial resources, Green party leader Elizabeth May said, are just further steps the government is taking away from the environment portfolio — and there’s no saying how far the Conservatives will go, she said.
“I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility that Environment Canada as a department will cease to exist,” May said. “I think it’s quite possible. It’s clear that they’re trying to step away from their federal responsibilities to the environment.”
A spokesman for Environment Canada said the cuts are part of the government-wide efforts to balance the budget by 2014-15.
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“As always, our department is committed to providing Canadians with a clean, safe and sustainable environment,” said Mark Johnson, adding the cuts will not affect the department’s ability to manage risks from toxic substances or ensure Canadians have clean air.
But for NDP environment critic Megan Leslie, the cuts — which follow on the heels of a scathing report from the federal environment watchdog — indicate the government is taking Canadians’ health and safety in the wrong direction.
“I think the Conservatives are delusional if they think that the cuts they’re implementing will help Environment Canada actually protect Canadians and their health and their environment,” she said.
This week, Environment Commissioner Scott Vaughan slammed the Conservatives for falling too far behind on their greenhouse emission target — a self-imposed target to reduce emissions by 17 per cent below 2005 levels by 2020.
In fact, Vaughan’s audit found that Environment Canada is projecting emissions levels in 2020 could reach above what they were in 2005.
“The commissioner said the goals we’re trying to meet are actually not attainable,” Leslie said. “So the answer is not to slash and burn through, lay people off and get rid of the money.”
For May, the outlook is equally grim.
“Stephen Harper has set this country on a path for environmental destruction,” Green leader Elizabeth May said, accusing the prime minister of relying on ideology and rejecting climate science. “Because if you’re paying attention to climate science, you’re not touching these programs.”
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