(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Most Canadians mistrust their federal administration's commitment to environmental issues, according to a poll by Decima Research released by Canadian Press. 64 per cent of respondents think the government has lately made environment announcements driven only by public opinion, and not genuine commitment.

During his time in opposition, current prime minister and Conservative leader Stephen Harper criticized the inclusion of funds for the "fatally flawed" Kyoto Protocol in the federal budget. Harper took over as head of government in February 2006. The prime minister has proposed a "made-in-Canada" plan for the environment.

On Jan. 4, Harper enacted the first cabinet shuffle of his tenure, creating five junior positions and switching the roles of eight ministers. John Baird took over as environmental minister from Rona Ambrose, whose environmental plan came under widespread criticism just weeks before.

Baird has proposed to invest $1.2 billion U.S. on alternative energy technologies, $195 million U.S. on clean energy technologies and $254 million U.S. on helping Canadians make their homes and businesses more energy-efficient.

On Jan. 23, Liberal leader Stéphane Dion—a former environment minister who won the party's leadership in December mainly by campaigning for more action against global warming—accused the government of addressing the environment only for political convenience. He also criticized the Conservatives for "stealing" and implementing "liberal ideas" they had allegedly ignored until now. "We must have done something right because Mr. Harper is now frantically trying to imitate us," Dion said, in French, at the start of a caucus meeting.

Polling Data

Do you think the federal government's recent environment announcements are being driven by genuine commitment or by public opinion?

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