Don Martin: Trudeau government takes a chainsaw to its tree-planting promise
Through all the confusion, controversy and consultations, one giant green hope stood out in Canada鈥檚 fight against climate change: We鈥檒l always have the trees.
Two billion carbon-absorbing trees to be planted by 2030 was the eye-catching Trudeau government promise from four years ago.
It made so much more sense than everything else. There鈥檇 be none of this carbon-taxing of energy linked to a promised rebate of all the tax we鈥檇 paid, which would somehow radically alter our emissions-belching behaviour. Or pumping carbon deep underground in hopes it stays there. Or paying $13 billion in tax support for a foreign-owned car battery plant.
This was a common-sense project the nation could get behind; the creation of a massive carbon sponge with the double bonus of growing it into eye-pleasing scenery and a habitat for animals as tree plantings turned into forests.
But according to the released on Thursday, that green dream has foundered on this government鈥檚 go-slow-if-at-all approach to doing everything coupled with bureaucratic inertia and an intergovernmental lack of timely co-operation.
Four years after the idea first took root, the commissioner has identified a mind-reeling list of failures which makes it 鈥渦nlikely that the program will meet its objectives."
For starters, only 1.5 per cent of the target has been reached after two years in operation. Of the 200 applications for tree plantings received to date, just 28 agreemeents have been signed to plant a severely modest 2.2 million trees.
In his most optimistic view, assuming all signed agreements are implemented, 鈥渢he program would be projected to plant 76.2-million trees by the end of the program, or 3.8 per cent of the overall two-billion tree goal,鈥 commissioner Jerry DeMarco wrote.
The odds of success are further bogged down by logistics that should鈥檝e been thought out before the project was announced and now show little sign of being addressed.
The nurseries, which must grow a collective 350 million seedlings per year to meet the target, are understandably hesitant to plant without long-term assurances their product will have a buyer. So far, those assurances are not forthcoming - and neither are the saplings.
Most of the few signed partner agreements don鈥檛 have stipulations allowing the government to monitor if the planted trees are still standing after five years of growth.
What鈥檚 worse, the program allows industrial partners to claim carbon offsets for the trees they plant as a substitute for throttling back their smokestacks. In other words, it鈥檚 a zero net gain in emission reductions.
And while there has been some recent progress in signing provincial and territorial partners, which are responsible for planting 1.34 billion trees in the plan, that handful of agreements are short-term and plant a relatively small number of trees.
While this report reads like an advance obituary for the program, it鈥檚 not like there isn鈥檛 political commitment from on high.
I was reliably told of an incident last summer when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined a group of Liberal staffers and their friends on a patio in downtown Ottawa. Trudeau promptly killed the party mood by delivering a prolonged scientific dissertation on the impressive amount of carbon that could be stored in a single tree.
So he gets the concept, he鈥檚 boss of a government that planted the idea and clearly has the money to buy a massive cross-Canada planting project that would deliver far more bang for the carbon-reduction buck than those eye-watering subsidies for a car battery plant.
Yet his government, which is overdue for regime change into one that would be far less enthusiastic about continuing to nurture this Liberal project along, seems to be putting little effort into growing the idea.
Part of the blame is undoubtedly Trudeau鈥檚 overwhelmed office of control freaks, who refuse to delegate power and have thus turned a firehose of incoming decision-making into a trickle-hose of outflowing action.
But most of the slowdown seems to be inside a bureaucracy that is conducting excessive consultations on the project, including a gender analysis study, before putting shovels in the ground.
That鈥檚 creating a missed opportunity to lead Canadians and inspire individuals to participate in a project that would deliver substantial carbon reduction in the long term.
I digress, but there鈥檚 a conservation area near my Ontario hometown where I helped plant thousands of seedlings as a Cub scout a very long time ago. I often walk there now to marvel at the towering forest of pine and spruce that stand on that former field.
I suspect Canadians, particularly kids, would seize on tree-planting as a tangible way to help the environment - if only Trudeau鈥檚 government wasn鈥檛 taking a slow-motion chainsaw to the project before it takes root.
That鈥檚 the bottom line鈥
IN DEPTH
Jagmeet Singh pulls NDP out of deal with Trudeau Liberals, takes aim at Poilievre Conservatives
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has pulled his party out of the supply-and-confidence agreement that had been helping keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberals in power.
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government鈥檚 three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party鈥檚 popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn鈥檛 be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Conservatives call on Elon Musk to step in after Liberals provide loan to Ottawa-based satellite operator
A $2.14-billion federal loan for an Ottawa-based satellite operator has Canadian politicians arguing about whether American billionaire Elon Musk poses a national security risk.
Sunken superyacht believed to contain watertight safes with sensitive intelligence data
Specialist divers surveying the wreckage of the US$40 million superyacht that sank off Sicily in August, killing seven people including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, have asked for heightened security to guard the vessel, over concerns that sensitive data locked in its safes may interest foreign governments, multiple sources told CNN.
Myths busted and lessons learned: John Vennavally-Rao on his surgery to reverse his ostomy
Twenty-seven year 麻豆影视 reporter and anchor John Vennavally-Rao shares his story of what it was like to have an ostomy bag as part of his health-care battle. 'I鈥檓 grateful for what it did to extend my life,' he writes in a personal column for CTVNews.ca.
The British Columbia election campaign is set to officially start today, with Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin issuing the writ for the Oct. 19 vote.
A northern Ontario man is facing a $12,000 fine after illegally shooting a moose near the Batchawan River.
Heavy metal exposure could increase cardiovascular disease risk, study finds
A new study is adding to emerging research showing that exposure to metals such as cadmium, uranium and copper may also be associated with the leading cause of death worldwide, cardiovascular disease.
Unusual flippered feet are making their way into the Saint Lawrence River this weekend. Led by underwater explorer and filmmaker Nathalie Lasselin, volunteer divers are combing the riverbed near Beauharnois in Mont茅r茅gie to remove hundreds of tires that have been polluting the aquatic environment for decades.
Hezbollah targets base near Haifa after Israeli strike in Beirut killed 37, including top commander
The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah announced that it fired a barrage of missiles at a military base deep inside Israel early Sunday following an Israeli airstrike more than a day earlier that killed at least 37 people, including one of the militant group鈥檚 senior leaders as well as women and children.
A sea lion swam free after a rescue team disentangled it near Vancouver Island earlier this week.
Local Spotlight
Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.
Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.
An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.
They say a dog is a man鈥檚 best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.
A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.
Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.
The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.
It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.