According to David Suzuki's website, global temperatures have only increased by 0.6 degree Celsius since 1900 (see www.davidsuzuki.org). Unfortunately, "rounding error" stats like that have contributed to yet another knee-jerk reaction from Manitoba's NDP, Kyoto-loving government.

While the rest of the world has abandoned the Kyoto Protocol as an unworkable document with uncertain scientific data behind it, our NDP government seems to have missed the memo.

Last week, the NDP government released a "bold" new plan for Manitoba to become the first province to meet targets laid out in the Kyoto Protocol.
While some critics have taken solace in the fact that the new legislation is quite vacuous and it's just another "chest beating" exercise, the devil is in the details.

The legislation is a hollow shell of a "plan" that seems to cover just about everything. It allows the minister and government bureaucrats to determine many targets and regulations behind the scenes, without public debate.

Unfortunately, the last time the NDP government went off to study an issue and come up with new regulations, it effectively shut down expansion of the province's $1 billion hog industry on the grounds it hurt the environment.
The reality check for the government came when scientists that contributed to the study, publicly criticized the ban.

Obviously the government can't be trusted to take a rational approach to the environment. However, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation knows that Canadians are capable of making environmentally friendly decisions on their own without having the government socially engineer our lifestyles.

One great example is Winnipeg's blue box program. Every week, most Winnipeggers are diligent about recycling appropriate materials without having government agents sifting through our waste and administering fines.
Voluntary support for this initiative continues to grow without the politicians on Broadway telling us what to do.

Aside from Canadians becoming more environmentally aware, market forces have also had a positive aspect on the choices that we make. As the world continues to demand more and more environmentally friendly vehicles, and as fuel prices have risen, the market has responded accordingly with a plethora of "green" vehicles. Despite this, the NDP government has decided to go after gas guzzling vehicles with - wait for it - new laws! Too bad it won't apply to Lieutenant Governor John Harvard and his new V8 Lincoln Town Car.

Perhaps they'll take a pass on putting Mr. Harvard on their new "vehicle standards advisory board." According to the new legislation, the board will be responsible for deciding "the most cost-effective efficiency improvements and emissions reductions that are feasible for new private vehicles in each year from 2010 to 2016 inclusive".

A whole new board, a whole new budget, and a whole new set of rules and regulations for Manitobans to follow. Since when did we become so "irresponsible" that the government felt it needed to step in and control every aspect of our lives

As demonstrated, Manitobans can decide for themselves how they wish to support our environment. We don't need politicians babysitting us. What we do need, is someone to recycle the new "government knows best" legislation and the politicians who wrote it.