Gov't Commissioner says Feds Still Failing on the Environment

onOct 30, 2007 @ 14:39 PDT

The Canadian federal Commissioner on the Environment says that the federal government (Liberal or Conservative) is failing miserably when it comes to the environment.

In his report, commissioner Ron Thompson says that, the “ambition and momentum” that once existed when it came to environmentally sustainable policies “have faded and that strategies are a major disappointment.”

And the Auditor General agrees. Sheila Fraser says of the report, “after a decade, sustainable development strategies are a major disappointment. For the most part, senior managers in departments have not demonstrated that they take the strategies seriously and few parliamentary committees have considered them.”

Politicians continue to ignore this issue at their own peril. For over a year now, the issue of the environment has been top-of-mind for Canadians according to opinion poll, after opinion poll, beating out health care and the economy.

The first politician to show real leadership on the issue and offer a substantial and clearly laid out plan for action on the issue of climate change (the top of – of the top-of mind issue), will reap huge rewards.

By Kevin Grandia

Kevin is a contributor and strategic adviser to DeSmog. He runs the digital marketing agency Spake Media House. Named a “Green Hero” by Rolling Stone Magazine and one of the “Top 50 Tweeters” on climate change and environment issues, Kevin has appeared in major news media outlets around the world for his work on digital campaigning. Kevin has been involved in the public policy arena in both the United States and Canada for more than a decade. For five years he was the managing editor of DeSmogBlog.com. In this role, Kevin’s research into the “climate denial industry” and the right-wing think tank networks was featured in news media articles around the world. He is most well known for his ground-breaking research into David and Charles Koch’s massive financial investments in the Republican and tea party networks. Kevin is the first person to be designated a “Certified Expert” on the political and community organizing platform NationBuilder. Prior to DeSmog, Kevin worked in various political and government roles. He was Senior Advisor to the Minister of State for Multiculturalism and a Special Assistant to the Minister of State for Asia Pacific, Foreign Affairs for the Government of Canada. Kevin also worked in various roles in the British Columbia provincial government in the Office of the Premier and the Ministry of Health. In 2008 Kevin co-founded a groundbreaking new online election tool called Vote for Environment which was later nominated for a World Summit Award in recognition of the world’s best e-Content and innovative ICT applications. Kevin moved to Washington, DC in 2010 where he worked for two years as the Director of Online Strategy for Greenpeace USA and has since returned to his hometown of Vancouver, Canada.

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