min·is·ter /ˈmɪnəstər/ Pronunciation[min-uh-ster]
–noun
1. a person authorized to conduct religious worship; member of the clergy; pastor.
2. a person authorized to administer sacraments, as at Mass.
3. a person appointed by or under the authority of a sovereign or head of a government to some high office of state, esp. to that of head of an administrative department: the minister of finance.
4. a diplomatic representative accredited by one government to another and ranking next below an ambassador. Compare envoy1 (def. 1).
5. a person acting as the agent or instrument of another.
–verb (used with object)
6. to administer or apply: to minister the last rites.
7. Archaic. to furnish; supply.
–verb (used without object)
8. to perform the functions of a religious minister.
9. to give service, care, or aid; attend, as to wants or necessities.: to minister to the needs of the hungry.
10. to contribute, as to comfort or happiness.
—Synonyms: answer, tend, oblige.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Of course none of these definitions -- with the possible exception of a loose interpretation of numbers 3. and 6. -- apply to John Baird in relation to the environment.
bairdj@parl.gc.ca>
Honourable John Baird
Minister of the Environment
Dear Minister Baird,
Despite your continued denial of the legal realities behind Canada's participation in the Kyoto protocol, the Canadian public will see that our legal obligations be met. Either this process involves your Conservative government, or your party will be held accountable at the next election.
At some point in the near future the Conservative party will begin to understand what many leading economists have said for years: the environment is the economy. Please come to the realization that short-term capital gains will be irrevocably lost as the expenses associated with climate change and environmental degradation mount to precipitous levels. For the sake of your own future accountability, start listening to what climate scientists such as James E. Hansen and economists such as Sir Nicholas Sterne are saying.
Mr. Baird, if you do nothing to address this problem in the short term, the legacy of your term as Environment Minister will consist solely of a tax file recording the income you received from your brief tenure. Your name will be forgotten along with that of every other martyr to the introversions of blind business interests. I am appealing now to your vanity: do you not wish to be thought of more highly than as a smiling business lackey who has repeatedly proved inept at and ignorant to the understanding of the science associated with the environment.
I am writing to provide you with my comments on your department's recently published "Climate Change Plan for the Purposes of the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act 2007".
I must remind you of your obligation to obey the laws of Canada. The Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act requires you to produce a plan to honour Canada's obligations under the Kyoto Protocol to reduce Canada's greenhouse gas emissions to an average of 6% below the 1990 emission levels between 2008 and 2012.
Although the "Climate Change Plan" lists numerous small steps to curb the growth in Canada's emissions, your plan foresees Canada missing the 2008-2012 Kyoto target by a wide margin, and in fact not reaching the target level until sometime after 2020. Under your approach, regulations on heavy industry - the source of almost half of Canada's greenhouse gas pollution - will not come into effect until 2010, and even then they fail to set a binding cap on industrial emissions.
Minister, you have promised to make your "best efforts" toward Kyoto. No one could read your plan and call this the best that Canada can do. Your plan fails the test that the law sets out, which is to honour Canada's Kyoto commitment.
I realize this is a difficult and demanding task, but it is the law, and it is your responsibility to uphold the law. The climate crisis is too grave to allow any more time to be wasted. We need you to take real action now.
Sincerely,
Quintin Hewlett
