OTTAWA – The Liberal government plans to spend five times more on pipeline construction this year than fighting climate change, according to new calculations from B.C. nonprofit Dogwood.

Thursday’s throne speech laid out a series of climate commitments drawn from the Liberal platform, which total $816 million in budget year 2020-21. Over the same period, the Trans Mountain project is expected to require at minimum $4 billion in public funds, or 4.9 times as much.

“This Parliament is tasked with steering Canada into the last decade scientists have given us to avoid catastrophic climate change. But Justin Trudeau is asking MPs to support a plan that will see the federal government spend five times more on increasing emissions rather than getting them under control,” said Alexandra Woodsworth, Campaigns Manager at Dogwood.

The throne speech made no mention of the Liberal promise to eliminate public subsidies to fossil fuel companies, which was a focus for both the NDP and the Greens during the recent election campaign.

“The lowest-hanging fruit in any serious climate plan is the public money we give to oil and gas companies, and Trans Mountain is top of that list,” said Woodsworth. “Not only do fossil fuel subsidies contribute to rising emissions, they steal tax dollars from efforts to fight climate change. It’s extremely disappointing to see the Liberals retreat from this promise.”

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