Clean air act fails the North: environmental group

Ottawa's new Clean Air Act does little to address the biggest air quality problems in the North — greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, Ecology North spokesman Doug Ritchie says.

The act, introduced Thursday, is primarily aimed at reducing pollution, which is not a big problem in northern Canada, Ritchie said,and eventually reducing greenhouse gases.

Ritchie said the Yellowknife-based environmental group is disappointed the act does not setany limits for greenhouse gas reductions.

"If you say to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions' intensity by, say, 50 per cent, that would be a start," Ritchie said. "If you say reduce it by two per cent or three per cent a year, that's effectively saying business as usual is fine."

The new act does little to curb one of the main sources of greenhouse gases, namely gas-guzzling cars and trucks, he said.

Indian and Northern Affairs Minister Jim Prentice, who spoke to CBC North about the proposed legislation, said the new legislation means for the first time there will be limits on pollutants.

"So, all of the poisonous things that go into the air, whether it's by automobiles or industry, will be regulated and, over time, will be required to be reduced," Prentice said.

However, the act allows for increases in greenhouse gases that accompany industrial development such as the proposed Mackenzie Valley pipeline.