Harper Gov. Tries To Protect Environment Canada Nominee From Answering Climate Questions
OTTAWA-Federal Conservatives are downplaying concerns over Prime Minister Stephen Harper's newly-selected boss for Environment Canada and the bureaucrat's knowledge about global warming.
The department's new deputy minister, Bob Hamilton, ran into trouble last Monday at a parliamentary committee when he was asked to explain what causes climate change. "Wow. Umm. They didn't tell me I'd have to answer questions like that when I took this job. I think that it's - I don't know the total answer to that -," said Hamilton, before Conservative MPs interrupted to prevent him from continuing.
EDIT
The last federal budget was also accompanied by a 400-page piece of legislation that dedicated one-third of its measures toward giving the government new tools to authorize water pollution, investigate environmental groups, weaken protection of endangered species and limit public participation in consultations and reviews of proposed industrial projects. Environment Canada's former deputy minister, Boothe, left the department last July after all these changes were adopted to accept a senior position as director of the University of Western Ontario's business school.
Meantime, a group of Canadian environmental advocates, led by a coalition of young Canadians have invited the minister, Peter Kent, to discuss the government's agenda with them at an Ottawa conference next week. Kent had declined an earlier request to debate them about climate change issues, following the release of an internal government briefing note that suggested Canadian youth were misinformed about climate change negotiations on the international stage.
EDIT
http://www.canada.com/Stephen%20Harper%20Tories%20downplay%20climate%20knowledge%20Environment%20Canada%20boss/7418473/story.html