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OTTAWA — Canada is further away from meeting its emissions reduction targets under the Paris agreement than it was a year ago, according to new government projections, though Environment Minister Catherine McKenna insists Canada will achieve its climate change goals.

New numbers released by Environment Canada on Thursday show that Canada is on track to fall 79 megatonnes short of its 2030 greenhouse gas emissions targets. That’s up from 66 megatonnes last year.

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But the gap is arguably even larger than that, thanks to the Ontario government’s decision to scrap the province’s cap-and-trade system. In its projections, Ottawa compensated for that by including an estimate of the carbon that will be stored naturally in forests and soils.

During a press conference in Ottawa on Thursday, McKenna was adamant that Canada will meet its Paris target of cutting emissions to 30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030. “Our government will remain steadfast in making progress on our climate plan with Canadians and reaching our targets,” she said. “We’re looking at policies every single day that can get us to a cleaner future.”