Clean Air Act Revisits Ignored 1980s Law
The Conservative government plans to breathe life into 25-year-old automobile fuel-efficiency legislation that has languished unused in the lawbooks, a key component of their Clean Air Act to be introduced tomorrow.
A senior Conservative insider said the 1981 Motor Vehicle Fuel Consumption Standards Act, along with myriad other existing pieces of environmental legislation, including the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, will be combined with new laws as part of the Tories' green plan.
"It creates new powers and it also punches up the powers we presently have, so it'll be a multi-pronged approach in what is a very heavy regulatory agenda," the source told The Canadian Press.
Consumers waiting for news on what kinds of tax breaks and incentives might be in the green plan will have to wait. They will not be included in tomorrow's announcement.
Environmentalists have been clamouring for years for the feds to impose mandatory standards on the car industry by using the existing Act, tabled by Pierre Trudeau's Liberal government.
But manufacturers persuaded government after government that they would simply abide by U.S. standards voluntarily, avoiding a potentially costly system of regulations. Two weeks ago, Environment Minister Rona Ambrose and colleagues said the government intends to end the current voluntary agreement by 2010.
The Motor Vehicle Fuel Consumption Standards Act contains a number of enforcement measures, such as fines of up to $1 million for companies that contravene fuel consumption standards, and a system of inspectors to make independent checks of the industry -- something Canada's environment commissioner recently complained was sorely lacking.
A senior Conservative insider said the 1981 Motor Vehicle Fuel Consumption Standards Act, along with myriad other existing pieces of environmental legislation, including the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, will be combined with new laws as part of the Tories' green plan.
"It creates new powers and it also punches up the powers we presently have, so it'll be a multi-pronged approach in what is a very heavy regulatory agenda," the source told The Canadian Press.
Consumers waiting for news on what kinds of tax breaks and incentives might be in the green plan will have to wait. They will not be included in tomorrow's announcement.
Environmentalists have been clamouring for years for the feds to impose mandatory standards on the car industry by using the existing Act, tabled by Pierre Trudeau's Liberal government.
But manufacturers persuaded government after government that they would simply abide by U.S. standards voluntarily, avoiding a potentially costly system of regulations. Two weeks ago, Environment Minister Rona Ambrose and colleagues said the government intends to end the current voluntary agreement by 2010.
The Motor Vehicle Fuel Consumption Standards Act contains a number of enforcement measures, such as fines of up to $1 million for companies that contravene fuel consumption standards, and a system of inspectors to make independent checks of the industry -- something Canada's environment commissioner recently complained was sorely lacking.
posted by Ottawa Gas Prices | 12:21 AM
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