Stephen Rees's blog

Globe and Mail

Quite the most depressing news – but absolutely what one would expect.

The Conservative Government in Ottawa wants to give its supporters everything they want. They also want to avoid an election – as does the Opposition. So instead on conducting the review of the Environmental Assessment Act which was due to start in May, they have just tacked a bunch of provisions onto the budget. That way the Liberals can’t vote against it without bringing down the government. And it would seem that the Liberals will probably let them get away with it.

Not that the EA Act has been especially wonderful – after all, we still got the tar sands development. But it was the remnant of a time when Canadians seemed to care about things like forests and lakes, rivers and wildlife. And about being able to have clean water to drink and fresh air to breathe. Apparently those things are not nearly as important as making money and avoiding elections.

And no, the publish date is not April 1, it’s March 31, so it’s not a prank. This is serious.