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Conservative senators kill climate change bill

Snap vote in the Senate abolishes bill passed by House of Commons

Conservative party senators have abruptly killed a climate change bill originally introduced by the NDP and passed by the House of Commons. The Tory senators profited from the absence of 15 Liberal senators to call a snap vote on Bill C-311, also known as the Climate Change Accountability Act, which was then defeated by a vote of 43 to 32. The bill in question called for greenhouse gas emissions to be cut to 25 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020, and 80 per cent below 1990 levels by 2050. “This was one of the most undemocratic acts that we have ever seen in the Parliament of Canada,” NDP Leader Jack Layton said at a press conference Wednesday morning. “To take power that doesn’t rightfully belong to them to kill a bill that has been adopted by a majority of the House of Commons representing a majority of Canadians is as wrong as it gets when it comes to democracy in this country.”

The Globe and Mail

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