Federal budget lacks green flesh

The Conservatives doled out $4.5 million in environmental spending yesterday in their highly anticipated budget announcement.

The budget made no reference to Kyoto, despite the Tories' formal agreement to honour its obligations in the House last month.

But it made at least some progressive steps toward reducing Canada's greenhouse gas emissions, including:

- up to $2,000 for buying fuel-efficient vehicles
- a levy of up to $4,000 on gas-guzzlers
- $36 million to get old and inefficient cars off the road
- $2 billion over seven years to aid in the production of renewable fuels including ethanol and biodiesel
- $250 million to conserve ecologically important lands
- $417 million for a clean water strategy

But for many environmentalists and opposition critics the budget was another example of the Tories' continued political maneuvering to sidestep putting meaningful, long-term, pro-active solutions in place to fight climate change.

The environment is a central to whether the budget will pass in the House. If it fails there will be another election.

But the Conservatives are positioned well in the polls. And the high spending in this year's budget indicates their desire to appease as many potential voters as possible.

If I was skeptical about the Conservatives' intentions, I would probably conclude that they are poised for an election -- one that is set to be focused on the environment.