EDMONTON - Federal NDP Leader Jack Layton says the Harper government is fighting the recession on the back of the environment.
A leaked document that shows Ottawa doesn't want to do as many environmental impact reviews doesn't bode well for the protection of Canada's land, air and water, Layton said Saturday.
The New Democrats first got wind of the government's plan in January through a Freedom of Information request, and raised the issue in the House of Commons at that time.
"Of course the Conservatives started hooting and hollering that we were exaggerating and that they would never sacrifice the environment to the economy," Layton said. "Now we find out that indeed this is precisely what they're doing.
"This is the opposite of a green economic recovery. Are they trying to create a brown and polluted economic recovery?"
Environmentalists who released the document on Parliament Hill on Friday said they expect a bill to be introduced this spring that will aim to reduce the number of projects that require federal reviews.
Environment Minister Jim Prentice has said Ottawa is addressing concerns that overlapping federal and provincial impact studies will delay stimulus spending. He rejected suggestions from conservationists who said he is putting the needs of industries such as energy, mining and nuclear power ahead of the environment.
The proposed changes would not affect large projects such as oilsands developments and pipelines, he added. They would be aimed at weeding out reviews of smaller projects already studied by a province.
But Layton said he fears what will happen if the federal government doesn't act as an environmental watchdog -- as it is legally required to do.
"The consequences of doing the cleanup later and the health consequences are ones that are going to come back and bite us or our children-- and none of us wants that to happen."
He also pointed out that there are already procedures in place for parallel environmental work by both levels of government.
Layton was in Edmonton to begin a countrywide tour to discuss with politicians, unions and business leaders how "green" initiatives can help the country out of a recession.
He said grassroots Albertans have a lot of creative ideas, but too often get a bad rap from the rest of the country for what is perceived as their lax environmental views.
"The voice of Albertans on energy conservation and the new energy economy needs to be heard. I think it's often not heard the way it should."
Layton said Alberta was out front for years in the development of wind power and remains a global leader in waste management and recycling.
