Mr. Speaker, that is not true either. There is no obligation until the Canadian people accept that obligation.
Maurice Copithorne, an adviser to Foreign Affairs and a leading treaty lawyer, recently wrote that governments “will normally only ratify a treaty after any necessary enabling legislation has been passed”.
The government knows that to reach its made in Japan Kyoto targets enabling legislation will have to be passed by the provinces and by the federal government. Will the Prime Minister follow the standard practice and wait until the legislation is passed before Kyoto is ratified?