Critics are accusing Environment Minister John Baird of using scare tactics, after he painted a grim picture of economic mayhem if Canada were to comply with the Kyoto Protocol.

Baird told the Senate environmental committee that economists have warned against following the Kyoto targets, but critics disagreed with the findings.

"This is a rigged study," Liberal Sen. Grant Mitchell told Baird. "The one thing that it demonstrates is how effective you are at spinning the media. And in fact, if we could just capture that spin, we'd have an alternative energy source."

During a news conference after he appeared before the committee, Baird said the government would instead bring forward a reasonable plan that won't destroy the economy.

"Rather than go to reckless extremes just to make up for lost time, we want a more realistic plan, which we will introduce soon," Baird said.

During his presentation to the committee, he said that meeting the Kyoto carbon emissions targets would "manufacture a recession" for Canada.

He said the government needs to strike a balance between acting boldly on behalf of the environment, and protecting Canada's economy "so Canadians can keep their jobs and build a promising future," Baird said in French.

The Senate committee is considering a bill put forward by Liberal MP Pablo Rodriquez that would force the government to comply with the Kyoto targets.

Baird told the committee that analysis from economists shows implementing the Kyoto Protocol would mean the following:

  • Gasoline will cost more than $1.60 a litre over the 2008-to-2012 period

  • 275,000 Canadians working today will lose their jobs by 2009

  • Job loss will cause unemployment rates to rise 25 per cent by 2009

  • The decline of economic activity in the range of $51 billion

But Baird said his criticism of Rodriguez' Bill C-288 shouldn't be seen as a condemnation of Kyoto, and the government remains committed to the principles and objectives of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol.

During question period in the House of Commons on Thursday, battle lines began to be drawn on the issue. Members of all three opposition parties demanded to know when the Tories would bring their Clean Air Act to the House for debate and a vote, and whether it would include mandatory emissions reductions targets for industry.

"The future of this issue is in the prime minister's hands," said NDP Leader Jack Layton. "Will the prime minister table this bill before the House, when will be do it so we can debate, amend and vote on the Clean Air Act Bill C-30. When will he do it?"

Harper suggested the opposition parties have unrealistic expectations.

"The real issue here is whether any of the opposition parties have the guts to face reality," Harper said.

"The reality is this Mr. Speaker; you cannot reduce greenhouse gas emission by one-third in less than four years and have a positive effect for the Canadian economy."

Dennis Dawson, a Liberal senator from Quebec and a member of the committee, suggested earlier in the day that the government is fear mongering.

"The sky is falling, we've heard that before. I was here in a previous life when the catalytic converters would kill the auto industry," Dawson told Baird during the committee hearing.

"After that it was acid rain -- if we controlled acid rain we would kill the forest industry. We've seen the movie 'An Inconvenient Truth,' but I guess this is a convenient lie. Every time we talk about changes that would normally protect the environment we have people coming in and telling us it will destroy the economy."

During the committee meeting, Liberal Colin Kenny questioned how Baird came up with his numbers, and asked for a step-by-step explanation of where the figures came from.

Baird referred Kenny to a document he handed out to the committee, but committee chair Liberal Tommy Banks said the document didn't contain math to justify Baird's claims.

Toronto economist Don Drummond has said in a letter to reporters that it would be impossible to meet the Kyoto emissions-cutting target without a massive carbon tax of approximately $195 a tonne.

However, a study released in late February by the group Friends of the Earth and Corporate Knights magazine put the cost of Kyoto compliance at $100 billion over four years, which they said would be about $20 per week for a family of four.

Kyoto calls for Canada to cut its greenhouse gas emissions to six per cent below 1990 levels by 2012. As of 2003, those emissions had increased by 27 per cent above 1990 levels.

If Canada doesn't meet its treaty obligations, it faces a 30 per cent penalty under the next phase of the Kyoto accord.

In addition, the opposition parties have forced the government to rewrite its Clean Air Act, which didn't mention the word Kyoto.

Baird has said the government will adopt intensity targets, which require cuts in emissions per unit of production, but allow overall emissions to go up if production rises.

Environmentalists have blasted that approach, saying GHG emissions from sectors like Alberta's oil sands could rise dramatically.

With a report from CTV's David Akin and files from The Canadian Press