OTTAWA

The Federal Court has slapped down Quebec separatist Daniel Turp's attempt to block Canada's withdrawal from the Kyoto Accord on global warming.

Turp sued the feds in January over the withdrawal "to remind the government that on international questions, it can't go at it alone, unilaterally, without consulting Parliament or citizens."

Justice Simon Noel threw out the case on Tuesday, concluding the law professor and former Bloc Quebecois MP is wrong.

"Under the royal prerogative, the conduct of foreign affairs and international relations, including the decision to conclude or withdraw from a treaty, falls exclusively under the executive branch of government," he said.

The court also rejected Turp's argument that the feds should have consulted the provinces, saying it wasn't up to him to raise that argument on their behalf.

Last December's pullout from the accord to lower greenhouse gas emissions angered environmental activists and left interim Liberal leader Bob Rae calling Canada an international pariah.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper rejected the criticism.

"What made absolutely no sense for this country was a Liberal government that signed the Kyoto protocols, signed what I quite frankly think were stupid targets and then had no plan after 10 years in office to even implement those," he said at the time.