MONTREAL - Canada's 13 provincial and territorial premiers hope to settle their differences in key areas of labour mobility and interprovincial trade when they meet in Quebec City this week.
The premiers will use their three-day meeting of the Council of the Federation, which kicks off Wednesday, to trot out strategies on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But expectations of finding unity among council members on how best to combat climate change remain low - at best.
Ontario's premier predicts little cohesion among his counterparts when it comes to the issues of energy and greenhouse gases.
"I don't think it's reasonable for us to expect that we're going to emerge with a consensus," Premier Dalton McGuinty said recently.
"We just have different provinces, different economies, different perspectives."
The Council of the Federation meetings will be held against the backdrop of Quebec City's extravagant 400th-birthday celebrations.
Last month, cabinet ministers from Quebec and Ontario also met in the historic provincial capital, where McGuinty and Quebec Premier Jean Charest signed a memorandum of understanding on climate change.
The two provinces are pledging to work together to cut greenhouse gases by forming an interprovincial carbon-trading system. They hope it will pressure Ottawa to bring its climate change plan in line with global standards.
The cap-and-trade system, to be in place by 2010, aligns the two with more ambitious international plans to reduce emissions.
With deep lines drawn among many of the provinces and territories on climate change, it's unlikely a similar deal will be cut by the Council of the Federation.
In Alberta, Premier Ed Stelmach says he's headed to the meetings with the message that the economy and the environment can thrive at the same time.
His booming province, the largest emitter of greenhouse gases in Canada, has long faced criticism from environmentalists for its plan to cut back on pollution. Alberta's strategy does not call for any net reductions in emissions for 12 years.
Earlier this month, Stelmach's government announced $4 billion for two major initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, $2 billion of which will be geared to carbon capture and storage.
He said carbon capture and storage is the way to go and is concerned with environmental plans proposed by his counterparts.
"Canadians are looking for real solutions that will reduce emissions," he said in a statement.
"A cap-and-trade scheme is a money transfer that does nothing to reduce pollution. In fact, it just allows companies to pay to pollute."
Stelmach hopes to sell the provinces on the carbon capture and storage technology, which often involves injecting greenhouse gases underground as a way of keeping them out of the atmosphere.
"Albertans demand environmental responsibility," he said.
"But Albertans are pragmatic and understand that harmony must be reached between the economy and the environment."
Solutions to labour mobility and internal trade issues between the provinces and territories have been in the works for years, and progress has been made, said a senior source in McGuinty's government.
But when it comes to climate change, it's time for Ottawa to step in, the source said.
"Let's not kid ourselves, it would be hard to imagine how there would be unanimity or any kind of decision on climate change," the source said.
"I don't know whether it's really the best use of everyone's time to try to look for unanimity on climate change. I think every premier there would want to make the best use of their time to serve the people of their provinces and territories."
Premiers at the summit will also meet with groups from the National Aboriginal Organization, which includes the Assembly of First Nations among its member organizations.
