Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 23, 2020, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A4 A 4 THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 2020 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COMNEWS I MANITOBA P REMIER Brian Pallister’s Rodney Dangerfield act on how Manitoba gets no respect from Ottawa on its greenhouse gas record may make for clever sound bites. But his claim the prov- ince is leading the country in the climate- change fight isn’t supported by the facts. This week, Pallister continued to peddle the idea Manitoba deserves special recog- nition for its record on reducing green- house gas emissions. He said the province has been a leader, especially when it comes to the billions of dollars it has invested in Manitoba Hydro to produce clean, renewable energy. “I want respect from Ottawa for the fact that Manitoba has an incredible green record,” Pallister said this week after meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Winnipeg. “We deserve to be respected for our green record.” Trouble is, Manitoba’s greenhouse gas record, compared with other provinces, isn’t great. It is one of only four provinces that had its emissions grow between 2005 and 2017 (the most recent data available from Environment Canada). Manitoba’s emissions increased 7.7 per cent during that period, behind only Al- berta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland. All other provinces, including Quebec and Ontario, reported a decline. Nationally, emissions fell two per cent. “We want the respect we deserve as a province,” said Pallister. “We’re a green province, we’re proud of it.” Pallister has argued Manitoba should get a special deal from the federal gov- ernment on its carbon tax plan because of its record on GHGs. The premier says Manitoba should get credit for the sub- stantial investments it has made by build- ing dams and other hydro infrastructure. “We’ve put billions of dollars at risk to green-up the environment, and we deserve respect for that,” said Pallister, adding Manitoba has invested triple what British Columbia and Quebec have on hydroelectricity on a per capita basis over the past 10 years. That may be, but greenhouse gas emis- sions come from many sources, including outside of power generation. When you add it up, Manitoba’s emis- sions have grown to 21.7 megatonnes in 2017 from 20.1 MTs in 2005. By contrast, Canada’s GHGs fell to 716 Mt from 730 Mt during the same period. Ontario’s emissions fell 22 per cent from 2005 to 2017, mainly due to the closure of coal-fired electricity genera- tion plants. Quebec’s GHGs dropped 9.8 per cent, and British Columbia’s fell 1.5 per cent. Industrial emissions have been the biggest driver behind Manitoba’s GHG growth. Transportation has also been a significant factor, including from light- duty gasoline trucks (such emissions soared 44 per cent in Manitoba in 2005- 17). Agricultural emissions also grew slightly during that period. Residential energy has been largely flat over the past dozen years, while emissions from solid waste disposal have declined. “I’m a farm boy, I don’t like dirty,” said Pallister, who often reminds people he grew up on a farm near Portage la Prai- rie. “Our family’s a fifth-generation farm family that understands we’re stewards of the environment, of the soil, of the air, of the water, for the next generation.” Pallister’s farm-boy stories aside, Mani- toba’s record on emissions is anything but green compared with the rest of the country. Even when measured on a per capita basis, Manitoba is about middle of the pack. Statistics Canada does its own emis- sions measurements, using slightly dif- ferent methodology than the one used by Environment and Climate Change Canada (the official benchmark for GHGs). Based on that data, as calculated by Nova Scotia’s Finance and Treasury Board, Manitoba ranks fifth among the prov- inces in GHGs at 16.3 tonnes per capita. Quebec has the lowest at 10.9, and Alberta the highest at 66.3. The national average is 20.8. Manitoba is one of only three provinces that had its per capita GHGs rise from 2009 to 2017 (although only very slightly at 0.1 per cent). Nationally, per capita GHGs fell by 0.3 per cent. No matter how you slice it, Pallister’s claim Manitoba is leading the country when it comes to greenhouse gas emis- sions is simply not accurate. He may want more respect from Ottawa on Manitoba’s environmental record, but as the data show, it wouldn’t be warranted. tom.brodbeck@freepress.mb.ca TOM BRODBECK OPINION Pallister exaggerates province’s green virtues MANITOBA Mounties spent less than $800,000 on a massive search last sum- mer for two young men wanted for three killings in northern British Col- umbia. RCMP Cpl. Julie Courchaine said Wednesday that the amount includes the cost incurred by the Manitoba RCMP during the 17-day search through the province’s northern terrain for Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, and Kam McLeod, 19. It does not include the cost of the B.C. RCMP or the Canadian Armed Forces, whose members were also involved in the nation-wide search. A national RCMP spokeswoman in Ottawa said in an email she was not in a position to give a total amount. The investigation began July 15 when the bodies of American Chynna Deese and her Australian boyfriend Lucas Fowler were discovered near B.C.’s Liard River Hot Springs. Two days later, a burned truck regis- tered to McLeod was found about 60 kilometres south of Dease Lake, B.C. The body of University of British Col- umbia lecturer Leonard Dyck was lo- cated nearby. The search continued east in the fol- lowing days. Dyck’s Toyota Rav 4 was found burned near Gillam on July 23. Mounties descended on the area of dense brush and difficult terrain. Local community leaders said at the time that anxiety was high for residents as police searched for the suspected killers. Items belonging to the suspects were eventually found about eight kilometres from the truck. That led to the discovery of the bodies of Schmegelsky and McLeod in brush near the shore of the Nelson River on Aug. 7. RCMP have said Schmegelsky and McLeod expressed no remorse for the killings in six videos they left behind. Schmegelsky said their plan had been to march to Hudson Bay, hijack a boat and travel to Europe or Africa. But in another video he said they had reached a river that was too large and fast mov- ing, so they planned to take their own lives. — The Canadian Press RCMP spent less than $800,000 on manhunt MANITOBA RCMP FILES RCMP walk near Gillam last July while searching for Bryer Schmegelsky and Kam McLeod, who were later found dead. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Brian Pallister, who met with Justin Trudeau this week, says Manitoba should get a special deal on its carbon tax plan. A_06_Jan-23-20_FP_01.indd A4 2020-01-22 10:23 PM ;