Canada Federal Election Survey - 2006

This election survey has been sent to five political parties in Canada. (Election day is January 23, 2006.)

New Democratic Party | Conservative Party | Green Party | Liberals | Bloc Quebecois

For details on public policy regarding Manitoba's lands and waters, previous election environment commitments, policy and protected areas mapping, go to our Governments page. Each question has been posed to the political parties based on their campaign to form government in Canada. The survey requests either a Yes or No answer to each question, with comments optional. Please Note: responses from the political parties have not been altered in any way. When a party did not answer a question with a definite Yes or No, " — " was entered.
NOTE - 3 parties have responded (Green Party, NDP and Liberals).

Energy Questions

Q1 Will your government encourage provinces and territories to put Renewable Portfolio Standards for new renewable energy in place (following the example of PEI, New Brunswick, Ontario and over 20 US states)?

	YES	NO	Comment
NDP	—	—	New Democrats are committed to building a sustainable energy future for Canada. Manitoba provides many examples of how to do this given the Government of Manitoba's leadership in developing geo-thermal heat pumps and wind power. In January 2005, the NDP released a comprehensive Kyoto Implementation Plan that includes a significant number of initiatives that support green energy production. These include: investing in an East-West Grid programs for co-generation expansion development of community capacity for renewable power production subsidies for windpower to meet a 10,000 MW by 2010 target grants to achieve 100,000 solar rooftops green power production incentives for technologies such as tidal, biomass and small hydro renewable targets, negotiated with provinces All of these programs would be developed and implemented following the environmental laws of Canada and in active partnership with provinces, local communities and First Nations.
Conservative
Green Party			visit www.greenparty.ca for our policy platforms
Liberal			The Liberal government is firmly committed to the development of sustainable sources of renewable energy and believes they are essential to ensuring a competitive green economy. The 2005 budget quadrupled funding to $200 million over five years for incentives for renewable energy through the Wind Power Production Incentive (WPPI) and increased the target for new wind generating capacity to 4000 megawatts (MW), or the amount of power needed annually by approximately one million average Canadian homes. Building on this successful model, Budget 2005 also committed $97 million of five years for a Renewable Power Production Incentive (RPPI), which will support the development of biomass, small hydro, tidal power, and other renewable energy sources. In terms of wind power production in Canada, Quebec and Alberta are at the forefront of wind energy production in Canada, with 102 MW and 172 MW installed, respectively. However, other provinces are following suit. Large utility-scale wind turbines have been installed in Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and the Yukon. Recently, Ontario announced that it has now contracted for 1,370 megawatts of new renewable capacity and outlined a plan to move forward towards meeting its target of adding 2,700 megawatts of new renewable energy by 2010. The Liberal Government will also continue to work closely with representatives from the private and academic sectors, as well as with provinces and territories, to continue developing and commercializing technologies, thus enabling Canada to be a world leader in renewable energy.
Bloc

Q2 Will your government guarantee that energy projects, including transboundary projects with federal government funding, will be subject to all standards and guidelines under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA) as part of the environmental assessment for the project?

	YES	NO	Comment
NDP	—	—	See #1 response
Conservative
Green Party			Learning to think in terms of watersheds and bioregions requires this transboundary approach.
Liberal			The Partnership fund we launched last spring as part of our Climate Change plan will help finance, on a cost-sharing basis, major technology and infrastructure investments identified in collaboration with the provinces and territories, including the potential extension of the east-west electricity power grid. We are also committed to reducing the constraints related to undue delays in review and approval processes for hydroelectricity and related transmission development, both at the federal level and with provinces through the Council of Energy Ministers. Ultimately, the final decision for how to best meet electricity and environmental needs rests with the provinces themselves; however, guidelines under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act will be respected.
Bloc

Q3 Will your government ensure that First Nation and Aboriginal rights will be respected and accommodated (as per consultation standards set by Canada's courts) as part of environmental assessments for energy projects? Provide time table please.

	YES	NO	Comment
NDP	—	—	See #1 response
Conservative
Green Party			Essential to redress existing and past actions of disrespect.
Liberal			The Liberal government stands firmly behind the accords we signed with First Nations, Métis and Aboriginal leadership at the Policy Retreat in May 2005. We have began taking action. On November 3, 2005, the Joint Steering Committee met for the first time to oversee joint action and co-operation on the recognition and reconciliation of Aboriginal and treaty rights. These approaches will acknowledge and act on legal and constitutional developments over the past 30 years as a means of ensuring effective and progressive policy. The inherent right to self-government is guaranteed under section 35 of the Canadian Constitution. We recognize the importance of self-government for Aboriginal Peoples as a means of achieving political, social and economic sufficiency and an improved quality of life overall. The Liberal party supports self-government and is committed to the resolution of comprehensive claims to provide a clear, certain and long-lasting definition of rights to lands and resources for all Canadians.
Bloc

Q4 Will your government ensure that the National Energy Board continues to take into account impacts on First Nations rights when reviewing permit applications?

	YES	NO	Comment
NDP	—	—	See #1 response
Conservative
Green Party
Liberal			All projects will continue to be reviewed in accordance with federal and provincial assessment legislation as well as Memoranda of Understanding that fully respect First Nations rights
Bloc

Q5 Will your government take steps to make sure that wind turbine projects that will ultimately provide more than 99 megawatts energy are subject to joint (federal-provincial) Environmental Assessment, based on publicly posted EA standards?

	YES	NO	Comment
NDP	—	—	See #1 response
Conservative
Green Party
Liberal			Producers participating in the Wind Power Production Program are required to submit an environmental assessment as per the requirement of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. Under that Act, any Government of Canada program that provides money for new construction of an installation requires an environmental assessment. Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) has developed an environmental assessment guideline document for producers applying under the program.
Bloc

Q6 Will your government take the same steps regarding ethanol plants, given that no environmental standards are in place for these plants in Manitoba?

	YES	NO	Comment
NDP	—	—	See #1 response
Conservative
Green Party			While the Green Party would work to expand biofuels and cogeneration of vegetative waste, the party understands there are important ecological considerations related to the actual efficiency of ethanol production.
Liberal	—	—	While this is a matter of provincial jurisdiction, all funding through our Ethanol Expansion Program is conditional on the completion environmental assessments.
Bloc

Q7 Will your government commit to making any federal funding for the proposed East-West grid conditional on the public availability of all data, offsets and credits in carbon and emissions resulting from the construction and operations phases of sections of the grid?

	YES	NO	Comment
NDP	—	—	See #1 response
Conservative
Green Party			The question is somewhat unclear although the Green Party would work with the provinces to improve East-West electricity infrastructure.
Liberal			The liberal government is committed to ensuring transparency and accountability through any and all of aspects of the 2005 Climate Change plan we put forward last Spring.
Bloc

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