TORONTO – Green Party of Canada Leader Annamie Paul said today that Canada should immediately begin bilateral negotiations with President-elect Biden on the creation of a North American Carbon Border Adjustment (CBA), and the repeal or radical restructure of the Canada-U.S Secure Third Country Agreement (STA) which has been found to violate Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
“The election of President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris presents an opportunity to usher in a latest chapter within the vital U.S.-Canada relationship. The primary 100 days can be critical in signaling a renewed commitment to tackle our most pressing shared concerns, including the climate emergency and the protection of human rights,” said Ms. Paul.
A CBA puts a carbon price on certain goods imported from countries which have weak greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction policies and practices, or which have policies below acceptable baselines. It prevents carbon leakage and might be the only most impactful motion Canada and the U.S. could take to incentivise other countries to adopt strong GHG emissions reduction policies.
CBA would have several key benefits:
• Enhances the competitiveness of North American firms which are more energy efficient than their global competitors;
• Helps prevent the relocation of commercial production – and thus GHG emissions – to where climate policies are weaker;
• Incentivises other countries to effectively price their very own carbon as a method to keep those revenues, somewhat than allow Canada or the U.S. to gather them;
“Within the fight against the climate emergency, Canada should at all times be searching for to punch above its weight and show leadership in international efforts to scale back global GHG emissions,” said Ms. Paul. “Unfortunately, this leadership is something the federal government has up to now did not exhibit. Canada’s GHG emissions reductions targets are woefully inadequate, and we’ve got no plan to get to a carbon-neutral economy by 2050.
“With a latest U.S. administration that has committed to re-entering the Paris Agreement and implementing a CBA, I hope it should be an added driver for Canada to assume a leadership role in the worldwide fight against the climate emergency.”
Ms. Paul said the Government of Canada must also immediately reopen the Secure Third Country Agreement (STA). Our Federal Court recently ruled that the STA – Canada’s asylum agreement with the U.S. – violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantee of “the correct to life, liberty and security of the person.”
“It’s a national shame that Canada continues to return vulnerable people back to the United States to face immediate detention, often under deplorable conditions,” said Ms. Paul. “Closing our borders to asylum seekers puts their lives in danger without making Canadians any safer and makes Canada complicit when these individuals are returned to their home countries where they risk persecution, torture or death. If President-elect Biden and the Prime Minister are truly committed to human rights, they’ll immediately reopen the STA to make sure that the rights of all those that enter the U.S. or Canada searching for asylum are protected.”
For more information or to rearrange an interview contact:
Rosie Emery
Press Secretary
613-562-4916×206
rosie.emery@greenparty.ca
