URGENT RESPONSE: November 24, 2010. As you may know, despite being passed by a majority of the members of the House of Commons, the Senate shocked Canadians on November 16th and defeated Bill C-311, the Climate Change Accountability Act. This is the only time in the past 70 years that the appointed Senate has defeated a bill passed by the elected House of Commons without allowing for full consideration or debate.

Bill C-311 is the single piece of environmental legislation passed by the House of Commons since the 2008 election. Its defeat means that Canada is the only industrialized nation without a clear plan to combat greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions - leaving our nation once again to be embarrassed on the world stage at the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference in Cancun, Mexico.

As you know, the Canadian Nurses Association has been a strong supporter of this legislation and has written to members of parliament (MP) in support of the bill. We ask that you write to your MP to express your disappointment in this bill's defeat at the hands of the unelected Senate, and to send a message that nurses expect the government to set meaningful GHG reduction targets in order to combat climate change and protect the health and safety of Canadians.

Take action now by sending this letter to your MP and the Minister of Environment. It will be copied automatically to the Prime Minister and to opposition party leaders Michael Ignatieff, Jack Layton and Gilles Duceppe.

If you have any questions, please contact nursingmatters@cna-aiic.ca

You can also click here to find your MP name by postal code or last name.

Chères et chers membres,

Comme vous le savez peut-être, même si le projet de loi C-311, Loi sur la responsabilité en matière de changements climatiques, a été adopté par une majorité des députés à la Chambre des communes, le Sénat a choqué les Canadiens le 16 novembre en le rejetant. C'était la première fois depuis 70 ans que le Sénat - dont les membres sont nommés - rejetait un projet de loi adopté par les membres élus de la Chambre des communes, sans permettre la tenue d'une étude ou d'un débat complets.

Le projet de loi C-311 est la seule mesure législative sur l'environnement que la Chambre des communes ait adoptée depuis l'élection de 2008. Son rejet signifie que le Canada est le seul pays industrialisé à ne pas avoir de plan clair de lutte contre les émissions de gaz à effet de serre (GES), ce qui laisse le pays une fois de plus dans l'embarras sur la scène mondiale au moment où la prochaine Conférence des Nations Unies sur les changements climatiques est sur le point de se tenir à Cancun, au Mexique.

Comme vous le savez, l'Association des infirmières et infirmiers du Canada appuie fermement cette mesure législative et a écrit aux députés pour appuyer le projet de loi. Nous vous demandons de passez à l'action maintenant en envoyant cette lettre à votre député et au ministre de l'Environnement. Elle sera transmise automatiquement au premier ministre et aux chefs des partis de l'opposition Michael Ignatieff, Jack Layton et Gilles Duceppe.

Si vous avez des questions, veuillez communiquer avec moi à nursingmatters@cna-aiic.ca

BREAKING NEWS NOVEMBER 17, 2010: The Climate Change Accountability Act, Bill C-311, was voted down in the Senate Tuesday, November 16, 2010. The bill (available here in its entirety - click on magnifying glass to left). was put to a vote yesterday and defeated by Conservative Senators, 43- 42. The defeat means that Canada is now one of the few countries in the world that has no federal legislation requiring government action on climate change. What is worse, the country is slated to join climate change talks scheduled in Mexico by the United Nations where over 200 countries will meet to work on an international climate change deal.

"The Climate Change Accountability Act would have set tough but achievable targets," said NDP Deputy Environment Critic, and the bill's sponsor, Bruce Hyer. "This would have gone a long way to ensuring Canada played its part in the fight against climate change."

Bill C-311 passed Third Reading by the House of Commons in a vote on May 5, 2010. It then went to the Senate for final approval. The result is historic, as no House of Commons bill has been defeated at second reading by the Senate since before World War II. The Bill had called for a 25% cut to greenhouse gases below 1990 levels by 2020. The Harper Government has set its target as a 17% cut from 2005 levels by 2020.

Last December, the Prime Minister went to the global climate change conference in Copenhagen and refused to support a deal on emission-reduction targets. Now, with the defeat of Bill C-311, Canada is once again failing to keep pace with the rest of the world by adopting deep, science-based reductions of climate change-causing greenhouse gas emissions.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper: Harper.S@parl.gc.ca

Federal Party Leaders:

Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada - Michael Ignatieff Ignatieff.M@parl.gc.ca

You can also send letters to your MP:

Click to find your Federal Member of Parliament using your postal code

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You can also send comments to members of the Senate directly. A short list of contacts is available by clicking on the file box icon, and a sample letter is available - click on the pencil and pad icon in the action alert box above.

August 16, 2010 – Statistics Canada, in partnership with Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada has released the long awaited results of its human biomonitoring data collected as part of the first cycle of the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS). The survey, conducted from 2007-2009, involved approximately 5600 Canadians between ages 6 to 79 years from 15 sites around the country. The biomonitoring component of the survey is the first of its kind in Canada.

Biomonitoring is the measurement of a chemical, or products a chemical makes when it breaks down, in the human body (Health Canada, 2010a). In this case, measurements were taken from blood and urine samples provided by survey participants (Health Canada, 2010a). The results of the survey will serve to inform and guide scientists, health professionals and policy analysts in their evaluation of chemical exposure and aid in the development of necessary policies to protect the health of Canadians (Health Canada, 2010a).

To access our full overview, the survey data, and the Health Canada site, click on the icons on the graphic to the left

August 12, 2010 - On August 8, 2010 a Nunavut judge granted an injunction that blocks a seismic study scheduled for the eastern Canadian arctic, including Lancaster Sound. The sound, located at the eastern entrance of the Northwest Passage, is considered to be one of the richest marine mammal areas in the world and serves as an important migratory route for animals ranging from narwhals and seals to beluga and bowhead whales. In fact, in December 2009, Federal Environment Minister Jim Prentice and Federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq announced a $5 million feasibility study for the planned creation of a National Marine Conservation Area to be led by Parks Canada.

In spring 2010, officials from the Geological Survey of Canada, a division of Natural Resources Canada, announced they were working to gain approval for a summer research expedition called the Eastern Canadian Arctic Seismic Experiment. In collaboration with German colleagues, federal scientists were set to conduct a seismic seabed survey of the area as part of a five year, $100 million northern Geo-mapping for Energy and Minerals (GEM) Program announced in August 2008 by Prime Minister Stephen Harper. To access our full overview, and more information about this issue, click on the icons on the graphic to the left