Madam Speaker, what is fascinating today in the Kyoto debate is primarily to be able to convey the views of my constituents and the point made by the president of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, Sheila Watt-Cloutier, following the conference, which was held this year in Kuujjuaq and where resolutions were submitted concerning Kyoto.
On November 27, I received in my office a letter which reads as follows:
Dear Sir,
I am writing to urge you to support the resolution that the Government of Canada is about to present to the House of Commons to have the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations framework convention on climate change ratified.
This issue has raised a great deal of interest among politicians and the public, particularly over the past few months. Some provincial governments see the protocol as a threat to their economy. However, the federal government primarily sees it as a measure to protect the environment. Inuit have a third way of looking at it, a very interesting one in my opinion, that I am asking you to examine before taking part in the debate and voting on the proposal.
The climate change caused by human beings not only threatens northern Canada's economy and environment, but also our culture and way of life. It is a well known fact that this change will be more significant at higher latitudes: the media regularly show images of the permafrost that is melting and of emaciated polar bears. However, what is truly at stake in northern Canada is the survival of the Inuit culture. We are a flexible people and we are well known for adjusting to changes to the environment and the economy. However, the magnitude of the anticipated environmental change, based on computer models—essentially the disappearance of the summer sea ice in the Arctic by the middle of the century—will significantly impact on our ability to survive as a society of hunters.
We know that this global problem requires a global solution, and this is why we are recommending that you support the ratification of Kyoto. A “Canadian” approach more permissive than expected as regards volumes, and delays in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada is not the solution to this urgent problem for the Arctic.
The Inuit Circumpolar Conference brings together Inuit from Canada, Greenland, Alaska and Chukotka to discuss climate change in the world. We refuse to adopt an alarmist attitude regarding this issue, but we firmly believe that all those responsible for Canadian policy must base their choices on science, on Canada's long term interest in the areas of health and well-being, and on the precautionary principle that Canada and other countries accepted and adopted at the 1992 earth summit, in Brazil. It is for these reasons that I am asking you, on behalf of our people, the Inuit of the northern Arctic and circumpolar Arctic, to support the ratification of the Kyoto protocol.
Sincerely yours.
It is signed Sheila Watt-Cloutier, president.